Cranberry Meatballs, Focaccia Bread, and Lentils, Oh MY!

This weekend was tons of fun. Of course, nothing really went as planned, but that's part of what makes a good time just that. We didn't get to try the Crepes, because after visiting the Botanical Garden Festival on Saturday morning, it was still packed come lunchtime - so I imagine they're pretty delicious if folks are willing to wait over an hour for them! We also planned on visiting Bella Vista Ranch in Wimberly, but the highway we needed to take in order to get there was closed. Despite the rain and fluctuating temperature, we still had a good time. It just so happens that on our way to Wimberly we found a really fun country pecan store, where Jose bought some tasty cinnamon covered pecans. I later made a purchase at a nearby antique store, where I found a few old cookbooks from the 50s that I happily adopted. Awhile back, I decided on starting a collection of dusty, yellow paged cookbooks with fun pictures from simpler times when Jell-o and 7 up were the featured ingredients in too many recipes. Though I need to begin sorting through my stuff some time before making the move to Boston, so that I don't pack dustbunny infested nicknacks that haven't seen the sun in years, I can't resist the desire to collect old cookbooks. This time I actually have a good excuse for not putting an end to my silly over-amassment tendencies: cookbooks are actually useful, unlike beanie babies or snow globes or too many Christmas stuffed animals...you get the idea - I have too much stuff :).

But can one ever have too much food? Of course, unhealthy gluttony isn't what I'm talking about, but Jose and I get a certain sense of comfort staring at a fully stocked pantry or refrigerator...oh the possibilities; soooo many things to cook, and too little time! I love walking into a home with the smell of something fabulous simmering on the stove, but it's more fun when you're actually the one making the food! These past couple of weekends I've been a bit more experimental with my cooking than usual. Last weekend I made some lentil soup, using a Key Ingredient recipe for inspiration, since I didn't have the ingredients I normally use to make this hearty meal. This past weekend I made an interesting meatball dish; I used cranberry stuffing to make the meatballs instead of breadcrumbs, and it actually came out quite tasty, despite the fact that it doesn't sound like a mouthwatering combination. There is one small problem, I didn't measure! Sometimes measuring takes the fun away from the experience, plus, it kind of ruins the moment for me...yes, sometimes my habit of not measuring is a bad thing, especially when my taste buds cry out from the occasional salty meal overdose, but it's all a learning experience, and it's always fun!

So here's what went into that meatball dish:
First, I cooked up some colorful veggies; I basically emptied out my veggie drawer:
1 medium sized red bell pepper, chopped
2 medium sized carrots, diced
1 small can black olives
about 1 1/2 cups broccoli
2 small roma tomatoes, chopped
1 small sweet onion, finely chopped

I sauteed these ingredients in olive oil and 1 or 2 tsp of lemon. I added a few spices, along with the expected pinches of salt and pepper. I left the veggies slightly crisp when I removed them from the stove.

The meatballs
1 1lb ground turkey
1 egg
Whole Foods Cranberry Stuffing - I used about a cup (this is great to have on-hand for lazy days! Plus it's delicious and preservative-free)
a bit of onion powder
black pepper
1 tbsp honey (strange ingredient, but it balances out the sourness of the cranberries)

This is what I added to the meatballs when they were almost fully cooked:
about 1/4 cup white cooking wine
1 small can tomato sauce
basil
paprika
parsley
garlic salt
pinch of sugar
red pepper sprinkles

While the meatballs cooked in a few tablespoons of olive oil, I boiled some pasta, adding a tablespoon of butter or two to the noodles after straining them (I used half a regular-sized bag of pasta [hmm...that's vague! But if you make too much, you can always eat the extra pasta with a sprinkle of Parmesan and it'll taste great]). After the meatballs cooked, I added the wine and sauce; I then allowed them to simmer with the wet ingredients and spices until they were fully cooked. The last part is fun and easy: mix everything together and EAT!

If you want to make some focaccia bread and you have a breadmaker, it's easy as pie! I used a basic pizza dough recipe for a breadmaker, I added more olive oil and some savory spices, like rosemary, basil, and an Italian seasoning blend. Be sure to add some garlic salt if you want something that resembles hearty garlic bread. When the breadmaker's finished doing it's magic, just remove the dough, shape it into a square, add some butter, garlic salt, paprika, pepper, cheese, and tomato slivers right on top - I used my fingers but you can use a brush :). Then you can bake it on a cookie sheet for about 20 minutes on 375! Sheesh, didn't measure here either; I got lucky with the focaccia. This was the first time I made it and I think I was a bit too liberal with my "recipe" experiment, considering my inexperience with the carby treat. It was a success, but I did find it needed a bit more salt after the first bite.

Now it's...LENTIL TIME! I didn't have all the ingredients I needed to make my grandma's recipe this last time I made lentils. Normally I'd add spinach and potatoes like she does, but with the KI recipe that I spiced up a little, I added peas and tomato paste instead. It actually came out sweet, so if you don't like the earthy taste of lentils, adding a can of tomato paste to your simmering soup will give it a different taste that you'll probably like - I think the peas contributed to the sweetness as well. Below you'll find my "cloned" Key Ingredient recipe (meaning, I didn't follow the recipe to the T because I added and took away a few of the ingredients/instructions - isn't that a cool term? We actually use it on the KI site!)

Ok...so this was an incredibly long post! I'll end this entry with a question: What is the best soup you've ever had? Come this Fall, we'll be in Boston, so I need to start collecting quite a few soup recipes for the many cold days ahead of us - at least I don't have to worry about packing those :)!