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Beluga lentils with Yogurt, Olive Oil and Oregano

Imagine you are on a really expensive yacht. Waves crash into the side of the perfectly white exterior as the sun shines down on your face. A breeze blows through your hair, and, a bit parched from the warmth, you reach for a glass of icy cold Champagne. A waiter passes by with a tray of shiny black caviar on a crispy crostini, topped with bright green herbs.**

**It should be noted, as part of this fantasy, you are all perfectly tan, just worked out with your personal trainer and your mascara is TOTALLY still on your face.

“I’ve never been a huge fan of caviar,” you think to yourself, “But I’ll give it a try.” The moment the crunch hits your lips you realize- this gleaming substance isn’t caviar at all! It has a much subtler flavor with a hit of spice and an olive oil richness. No pungent fish flavor-no gumminess- it’s just, well, nice.

Welcome to the world of beluga (as in caviar-esque) lentils! Known for their texture (as opposed to the creamier mouth feel of other lentils), these black lentils are perfect for appetizers and salads because of their heft. They also, when cooked correctly, have a shiny gleam to their exteriors, much the same as caviar (but for a whole lot less money).

That’s why this week we are all about some lentils!!

Fun Beluga Facts!

The best cooking ratio is 1/2 cup lentils (rinsed) to 2 cups filtered water.
Prep yo’ lentils! Rinse the lentils thoroughly (remove any weird looking bits that may have congregated bag), combine them with water, add salt, and bring to a boil. Simmer for 30-40 minutes covered, with the top slightly askew to release steam.
Flavor these legumes in all kinds of ways! Try adding Asian spices, kombu (seaweed), salt + pepper at the beginning of the cooking process.

Keep tasting!! Once you reach the 30 minute mark, check to see if the lentils are done. They should have a bite but not leave a starchy aftertaste in your mouth. If they need more time, keep them simmering!
Finish the lentils by topping with yogurt (like our recipe), olive oil, herbs, etc.
Belugas also go great with fish! (Speaking of caviar…)

So, this week let’s break out our most luxurious of circumstances (for me, it’s my plastic pool in the back yard with our dog Bigsby) and umbrella cocktail, and enjoy the luxury that is belugas!

Beluga Lentils with Yogurt, Olive Oil and Oregano (Recipe modified a bit from Bon Appetit’s Spiced Black Lentils with Yogurt and Mint)

This recipe blew me away with it’s deliciousness! The amazing flavor you get from toasting the powdered spices and mustard seeds brings these flavors to life. I was so addicted to these lentils that I drove around eating them out of a plastic tub in my Prius.

Serves: 4-6 as a side

Time: 50-ish minutes

What You Will Need:

½ teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon whole mustard seeds
2 tablespoons olive oil plus more
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 cup black beluga lentils
3 cups (or more) low-sodium vegetable broth*
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
Kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
fresh oregano, for topping

Heat rimmed saute pan on medium heat. Add olive oil and spices; stir frequently, toasting for about one minute. This should smell pretty tasty!
Add onion and garlic and cook until just softened, stirring frequently again!
Add lentils and broth; bring to a boil, cover slightly, then reduce to low heat. Cook for 30 minutes, and taste to see how they are doing. Mine took about 50 minutes to reach the texture I liked.
Once done, add in the vinegar, salt and pepper to taste.
Serve warm, topped with Greek yogurt, a drizzle of olive oil, and fresh oregano leaves. YUM!!!

*I realized that I labeled this recipe as vegetarian, but when I cooked these I used Trader Joe’s chicken stock. So you can do whatever you feel here!

Tofu FUN: Marinated Tofu Salad with Spicy Peanut Vinaigrette

Tofu is FUN, and so are leftovers!

Ok, here me out.

Part of being a food stylist means I am oftentimes left with some of the craziest leftovers. Normal, wonderful people have ketchup and chicken breast and maybe a stray Chinese take-out container in their fridge. I have quail eggs, bonito flake puree and beluga lentils.

And you know what I realized? That’s kind of awesome. I mean- I am the first to admit that I hate leftovers past two days old. Spaghetti on day 3? It reminds me of my days at the Samford (university) cafeteria and let’s just say- I can’t go there (spaghetti, day one; manicotti, day two; shepherds pie, day 3; sloppy joes, day 4….you see where this is going).

But weird, random ingredients piling up in my pantry and/or fridge that haven’t been cooked yet? We can work with that.

Which brings me to this month’s focus- vegetarian recipes that attempt to use what I already have on hand. I’m thinking that if this goes well, I may just capitalize on it for months to come- highlighting some of the cool shoots I’ve been working on and sharing with you the ingredient leftover recipes. Let me know if this interests you!

On to tofu.

My inspiration for this salad came from my current favorite cookbook- Tokyo Cult Recipes– and their tofu salad. I noticed that the tofu they used was raw- as in not fried, roasted, or stir-fried- just all by it’s lonesome, right there on top of raw salad greens and veggies. My tofu-hesitant self was thrown. But also intrigued…so here’s what I learned.

Tofu 101: Huge shoutout to this article by the Kitchn for the helpful info! I highly recommend checking out the post if you are interested in learning more!

Tofu is a staple of Asian cuisine. Lots of people in Asia are super healthy. So I interpolate some connection there.
Tofu is made of soybeans and called bean curd! The difference in the two types of tofu comes from how much water is pressed out of the curd.
The more water you press out of tofu, the firmer it becomes and the longer it takes to cook. No water pressed = silken tofu; water pressed out=regular tofu.
Silken tofu is a beautiful thing; light and creamy, it ranges in texture from extra soft to medium to extra firm. It’s perfect for smoothies, puddings, salad dressing and sauces!
***BAKING TIP ALERT*** Silken tofu can be used as an egg substitute in baking!
Regular tofu is also a beautiful thing. I used it in this spicy sweet tofu stir fry and it’s easier to take on the flavors of what you are cooking when you work with regular tofu. To keep it crispy and light, it helps to press even more water out of the tofu before cooking using a cast iron skillet and lots of paper towels (which you can read more about in that recipe).

This week’s recipe uses silken organic tofu from Trader Joe’s as well as the Trader Joe’s Spicy Peanut Vinaigrette (which I dig). It’s SUPER simple to put together, will sincerely impress your vegan and vegetarian dinner guests and leaves you with leftover tofu to eat the next day that tastes EVEN YUMMIER.

Here’s to tofu love- and never being intimidated by leftovers!

Spicy Tofu Salad with Peanut Vinaigrette (Recipe inspired by Tokyo: Cult Recipes Tofu Salad)

The only prep required in this recipe is marinating the tofu overnight in a pre-made, spicy peanut dressing. Once the tofu is marinated, just assemble your veggies, soak the red onions if you want less of a bite, and voila! Lunch!

Serves: 6

Time: Overnight marinating plus 15 minutes assembly time

What You Will Need:

19 ounces organic silken tofu, drained and cut in half lengthwise (so it forms two thinner planks)
1/2 cup Trader Joes Spicy Peanut Vinaigrette plus additional for drizzling
5 ounces organic mixed salad greens
1 carrot, peeled then thinly shaved into ribbons with a vegetable peeler
1/4 cup roasted salted almonds, roughly chopped
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced and soaked in cold water for 30 minutes
2 jalepenos, sliced
salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste

What You Will Do:

Pour 1/2 cup dressing over tofu halves in 8 by 8 inch baking pan, making sure to coat the top and sides of the tofu well with dressing. Cover with plastic wrap and put in fridge overnight.
When you are ready, assemble the salad! Create a bed of salad greens, then top with one or two tofu planks. Add carrot ribbons, almonds, red onion, and jalepenos.
Right before serving, drizzle with additional dressing to taste. You can either serve the tofu plank(s) whole and allow guests to slice, or go ahead and slice it into pieces for easy serving.

Luv Cooks Southern Cooking Video Episodes!

Hi all my amazing Luv Cooks readers! Have I told you lately HOW MUCH it means to me that you read these posts? You are cooking rock stars and to that I say, rock on friends, rock on.

Also, EXCITING news to share with you! As many of you know, I have been wanting to incorporate Luv Cooks video content for eons now. Pretty much what feels like a half century of my lifetime, which means I probably felt this way in about the time period Brooklyn was being filmed. Ok, back to the task at hand….

The official FIRST EPISODE of our Luv Cooks series is about to be arrive. That’s right- Southern recipes, straight from The Nashville Cookbook, live and on Luv Cooks You Tube!. Which means any time you are craving a dose of Luv Cooks kitchen shenanigans, you can tune in. Night or day. You get the picture.

So, here is our teaser video, getting you primed for this month’s recipe- which, if you like sweet potatoes, pecans, butter, and marshmallows, you are going to be over-the-moon about.

So check out the video, and I’d love to hear what else you’d like to see me cook! Luv y’all!

Royal Cup Coffee & Honey Dairy-Free Ice Cream

Sometimes, there are moments in life that seem too good to be true. The ones where you stand back and go, “Wait, what just happened?”

I’ve had several of those lately. The first came this February at the Food Media South conference. I was there trying to learn how to be better at- well- everything that has to do with food. I learned a ton. Breakfast and lunch were delicious. But the coffee? Spectacular.

Growing up in Alabama, I am a huge fan of Royal Cup . Their passion for excellence and high-quality roasts make for a great coffee experience. My all-time favorite Royal Cup blend is Fancy Gourmet, a perfect, medium roast with full body and a divine richness. Once I realized they were in charge of keeping us fueled at the conference, and nearly assaulting the Royal Cup staff with my enthusiasm for their roasts, I was introduced to Mike Powell, Regional Manager at Royal Cup. After sharing with him my love for their product and a bit about Luv Cooks, he promised to send some Fancy Gourmet my way. And just like Royal Cup always does, they went above and beyond and sent a beauty of a package, overflowing with bags of Fancy Gourmet, Royal Cup mugs, lip balm- and a beautifully hand-bound book full of quotes on excellence (marked by their H.C. Valentine brand). Luv.

I also knew that to those much had been given much was expected. I knew I wanted to give Royal Cup a great recipe on the blog. And I knew in order to be great it had to come from my heart.

*Flashback Alert*

One of my favorite things to do with my dad is drink coffee. He is now a decaf guy (the regular version makes his hands shake before surgery), but we both share a love for a great, dark-roasted cup. He takes his black with honey; mine comes with cream, sugar, and more cream. Our perfect recipe? Coffee ice cream. With honey.

My second moment came last Saturday with my friend Heather Brown. She and I were given the awesome opportunity to style a “How to Be the Hostess with the Mostest” ice cream and cookies party for The Shops of Grand River. The ice cream bowls from the Le Creuset store in this shoot are adorable and I wish I owned them all! The platter is pretty too.

Heather from My Life Well Loved Teaches Luv Cooks — Heather teaching me a thing or two while we set up for the party with the beautiful Le Creuset bowls and platter!

Heather has been featured on Luv Cooks before, and for those of you who keep up with the blog, you know that she is incredibly talented and vivacious and wonderful. But this shoot was special. Heather is pregnant (due this fall) and she was glowing. That type of glow where your face lights up and your whole demeanor changes. Not only was she a natural on camera (See our Cookies & Ice Cream party video below) she radiated with a type of happiness that was contagious. Not to mention, her cookies were so dang tasty that I took at least four. Maybe six. Total. Just click here for her delicious dark chocolate oatmeal cookies, and check out our video below for some excellent ice cream and cookie party hosting tips.

So y’all, in the spirit of our upcoming summer, and living in awe of life and those moments where we look back in complete gratitude and amazement- make some homemade (dairy-free!) ice cream, bake some cookies, and enjoy every bit of it with the ones you love. Because those are the memories that last longer than just ice cream (especially in the South:))

Royal Cup Coffee and Honey Ice Cream (recipe modified from the always inspiring Minimalist Baker)

This take on a classic coffee ice cream is rich and sweet, with a nice, subtle coffee flavor. Make the ice cream ahead of time; you will need to chill it for at least four hours in the freezer, with additional 30 minute increments in the mixer to soften it up.

What You Will Need:

14.5 ounces coconut cream (from two cans of chilled coconut milk*)

1/4 cup Royal Cup coffee

1/2 cup vanilla almond milk

2 tablespoons good quality honey (plus more for drizzling)

1/8 tsp salt

What You Will Do:

1. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper.

2. Pour coconut cream, coffee, almond milk, honey and salt into a large bowl. Using a hand mixer, mix on medium high for about one and a half minutes, until the mixture is creamy and smooth.

3. Pour the mixture into the parchment-lined loaf pan. Freeze for at least four hours.

4. Once the ice cream has been in the freezer for four hours, take it out and put it into the metal bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on low to medium for about a minute. This softens the cream mixture to about soft-serve consistency. If you would like more of an ice cream texture, put the softened mixture back into the loaf pan and re-freeze for 30 minutes.

5. Once left in the freezer for 30 minutes, put the hardened cream back into the stand mixer and mix once more (for a minute or so). Serve immediately, or continue the whipping process until you reach a desired consistency!

*The best way I have found to make coconut cream is to pour two cans of full-fat coconut milk in a glass bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and chill overnight in the fridge. Once you are ready, simply pour the milk over a metal strainer. The chunks that have hardened are the cream; the liquid you can save for other recipes that use coconut milk! #yum