An Evening with Anna

Tonight, a good friend of mine came over for dinner... we hadn't gotten together in a while, so a date was long overdue! Naturally, good friends and good food go hand-in-hand. I'm always excited for an excuse to cook, so I eagerly pulled together a few different recipes and got to work!

On tonight's menu?

Mini Glazed Lentil Walnut Apple Loaves from Oh She Glows (9 WW points+ each, serves 8)

Feta-Walnut Beet Salad (recipe follows)

Steamed Green Beans

and for dessert...

Mango Sticky Rice from The Kitchn (5 WW points+ each, serves 6)

Yes, it was delicious and yes, you can make it too. 

First I set one cup of rice aside in a bowl of water for about four hours so it could pre-soak. Because I couldn't find Thai sticky rice at my local grocery store, I used Basmati rice instead. Some people specifically say NOT to use basmati to make "sticky rice" but honestly, mine turned out just fine. No need to be super picky here!

Another thing I did ahead of time was prepare my beets. Wash, wrap, and roast for 30-50 minutes at 400 degrees. 

When you are able to easily pierce a fork through the middle of the beets, remove them from the oven.

Once they are cool enough to handle, go ahead and peel them. I find the easiest way to do this is to just rub them with a paper towel; the friction makes the skin slip right off! Easy peasy! 

Chop up the beets and mix them with some olive oil and balsamic vinegar (1 tsp of each per beet). Also sprinkle on some salt and pepper to taste. Stir to coat, then set them in the fridge to chill and soak up all that tasty flavor!

Next it was time to make the lentil loaves. This turned out to be a much longer process than I was expecting... it probably took me over an hour to assemble the mixture, then another 35 minutes to cook the loaves. It's definitely a process, but oh my goodness... so worth it! Step one is to simmer the lentils until the are soft enough to mash.  

Mash, mash, mash!

While the lentils cook, you have time to prepare your other ingredients. I didn't have breadcrumbs, so I made some of my own from half a bagel thin. Why not?

After I was done toasting my chopped walnuts, I toasted my breadcrumbs as well. Just a little to bring out the flavor - I didn't want to dry them out too much. 

Walnuts, breadcrumbs, oat flour... did you know oat flour isn't a special ingredient you need to buy? Just measure out the amount you need in oatmeal and grind it up in either a blender or a food processor. Handy, right??

Carrots, celery, apple, raisins, ground flax seed, onions, garlic... so. much. chopping! This is where it would have been nice to have a food processor, but alas! No such luck in this house. I guess it's good to do things by hand anyway. Once you have all your ingredients ready, you can start cooking. First, sauté the onions and garlic with 1 tsp olive oil. 

When the onions are tender and translucent, add in the carrots, celery, apple, and raisins. Cook for about another 5 minutes or so. 

Now, mix everything together! I was a bit nervous that it was going to be too dry because my lentils turned to this sort of dry clay texture, but as soon as I put everything in the same bowl it magically turned into this bowl of warm, moist mush. Mmm, doesn't that sound just delicious? 

Some people have a gift for describing things. I may not be one of them.

Once everything is thoroughly mixed, portion it all out into some muffin pans. Make sure to spray the pans with some non-stick spray first. The directions said to press the mixture down firmly, but I ended up just lightly patting it in there. I liked the end result, so I would definitely recommend it that way! My loaves turned out fluffy and moist. 

Mix together your glaze of ketchup, maple syrup, apple butter, and balsamic vinegar and divide among your mini loaves. The original recipe says to only use half and reserve the rest for later, but I ended up needing all of it to cover everything. So then I made more. :)

Glazed and ready for action! Pop these in the oven for 35 minutes at 350 degrees. 

In the meantime, prepare your green beans. I just put about a half an inch of water in a pot, threw in my green beans, and covered them so they could steam for about 3-5 minutes. 

After the lentil loaves come out of the oven, top them off with the rest of your glaze (remember: I doubled the recipe). They will be very soft when they're hot, so be careful as you take them out of the pan. You could also wait until the cool so they're a little easier to take out. But I'm impatient. 

Put one loaf on a plate with a good serving of green beans and a scoop (about 1/2 cup) of beets. Top the beets with a tablespoon each of feta and chopped walnuts, and you are ready to serve!

Not only is this dinner bursting with flavor, just look at that color! Such a happy little plate. I was super pleased with how the lentil loaves turned out. They weren't dry at all, and I loved their hearty flavor that was complemented by the tangy sauce on top. 

Dinner = done. On to dessert!

Drain the rice and put it in a pot with two cups of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a vigorous simmer until all the water is absorbed. While the rice is simmering, prepare your coconut sauces. 

First, spoon the coconut cream from the top of the can to separate it from the thinner milk. Set aside. Add the milk to a saucepan with 2 tbsp of sugar and 1/2 tsp salt. Warm over low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Once the rice has absorbed all the water, mix in the sweetened coconut milk. It's going to be a bit soupy, so stir it over medium heat until the rice thickens up a little bit. Cover and set aside for 20 minutes. 

To prepare the thicker sauce that goes on top, add the coconut cream to the now-empty saucepan. Add in one tbsp sugar, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp cornstarch. Stir over low heat until the sugar melts and the sauce thickens. 

Next, slice up two mangoes! I cut mine into long strips, which I later halved. Not sure how to cut a mango? Check out this video tutorial on The Art of Doing Stuff. It's a good one - I love Karen! :)

After about 20 minutes, the rice should have set and should still be nice and warm. Put a scoop of rice in a small bowl and top with some mango slices and a couple spoonfuls of the coconut cream sauce. Mmmm! This dessert is smooth and delicious - a perfect balance of salty and sweet with tropical accents! 

I would say this dinner was a smashing success! Let me know if you try any of these recipes and what you think of them; we were definitely impressed. Also, be sure to check out the links I included -  there are lots of other good recipes out there!

~~~

Feta Walnut Beet Salad

makes two servings (5 points+ each)

2 beets

2 tsp olive oil

2 tsp balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

2 tbsp crumbled feta

2 tbsp chopped walnuts

1. Wash beets and wrap in tin foil. Roast for 30-50 minutes at 400 degrees. 

2. Beets are done when you can easily poke a fork through the center. Remove from oven.

3. Once beets are cool enough to handle, use a paper towel to gently rub off the skin. 

4. Chop beets into bite-size pieces.

5. Coat with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper. Allow to marinate in the fridge for at least one hour. 

6. Just before serving, top with feta and walnuts.