Make it! Lentil Crackers

These crackers are really easy, tasty, and higher in protein that straight flour crackers.  The recipe is very forgiving (and may require some adjustment depending on how you cook your lentils), and the taste combinations are unlimited.  I'm not one to always exactly follow a recipe exactly, even my own, so each time I make these I have made them slightly different, and they've always come out great. In fact, the only reason why I wrote up a recipe is so I could share it with other people!

Lentil Crackers

You will need:

2 Cups cooked lentils (I used split red lentils)

4 tablespoons flour of your choice (I use Namaste Gluten Free Flour Blend)

4 Tablespoons oil of your choice (I use Olive Oil)

Parchment paper

Salt and spices

Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees.

Take your 2 cups of cooked salted lentils (salt lentils as they cook in water).  You want them to be fully cooked and mushy. I didn't have hardly any excess water by the time mine were done.  If you do, drain it off.

I cooked a 1 pound bag of lentils and used the rest in other ways.  You can certainly make a really large batch, but you'll need to adjust the proportions.

Put your 2 cups of cooked lentils in a bowl.  Add flour, oil and salt to taste if desired.  Mix it all up with a spoon or your hands (I wet my hands to work with the dough).  Your dough will probably be a little sticky - and that's ok.  Slightly tacky is better than really dry.  Add more flour or water as you go along to get the desired consistency.

Divide the dough in half and make a round ball. It should hold together well even with gluten free flour (the first time I made these I used brown rice flour).  Place on parchment paper or silicone baking mat (you can reuse parchment over and over until it starts to brown and get more fragile - then toss it). Put another piece of parchment on top and roll out your dough evenly until it is thin.

Peel off the top piece of parchment.  Sprinkle with salt and spices (I used Trader Joe's South African Smoke). Cut your thin dough into cracker shapes. A pizza cutter works great for this.  No need to separate them - they will do this in the oven on their own.

Carefully lift the parchment paper onto a baking sheet and cook for 20 to 30 minutes or until brown.  When they are browned they will be fully crispy and cracker like.

Do the same with the other half of the dough.

Store in an airtight container and enjoy!

Do you make crackers? What kind of spices would you use?  

Make it! Orangettes

I love when you can take something headed for the trash and make it into something beautiful.  The French, fine makers of fancy things, have done this so elegantly with the classic candied orange peel treat, orangettes.  

These are surprisingly simple, and can be as frugal as you want them to be. 

This is what you will need:

Orange peels (or lemon or grapefruit) from 4 large oranges (I used 5 smaller oranges)

Sugar (I used turbinado, but you can use regular sugar, or ultra fine granulated sugar)

Water

Chocolate (optional)

Since you are eating the peels, I would only use organic oranges for this.  Everyone feels differently about this topic, so do what you feel comfortable with.  Either way, make sure to start by cleaning your oranges well.

Next you will take a knife and cut off the very top and bottom of the oranges.

Score each of the sides with a smaller knife so that you have several clean straight slices around the orange.  Peel the orange and slice into thin sections.

You will take these orange peels and boil them for 15 minutes in water.  

Drain, rinse, and drain again. 

I collected the water the oranges were cooked in because I thought I might be able to use it for cleaning purposes. I'd love to hear if you know what to do with it.  It is very bitter, however, and not something you want to drink (trust me on this one)!

Do not drink this. Yuck!

Next you will combine your sugar and water in a pot and bring to a boil.  You are making a simple syrup using one part sugar to one part water.   The recipe that I started with suggested suggested 3 cups of sugar and three cups of water, but I used two cups of each and it was plenty syrup to cover the amount of orange peels I was using. 

Dissolve all of the sugar, bring to a boil and add peels. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes.

I used turbinado sugar which is why my syrup is so dark.  

Orangettes drying, orange syrup, and a bar of chocolate.

Drain your oranges (make sure to collect that delicious orange flavored syrup), toss in sugar and lay them out to dry.  I tossed my orange peels in turbinado.  Next time I will use a finer granulated sugar to toss them in, but they still look great.  

I let them dry about 24 hours, and then I dipped them in melted dark chocolate and placed them on parchment paper on a tray and stuck them in a fridge to firm up.  The chocolate part is optional, but so worth it if you have it.

They don't look "perfect" but that's kind of charming I think. And once you taste them you will know why they sell these in the fancy French bakeries!

I packaged them up in jam jars and gave them as gifts.

The total cost for this was about $4.50 for 4 gifts.  I used organic sugar and organic fair trade chocolate from Trader Joe's.  Using less expensive chocolate and sugar would make this significantly cheaper.

Here is the cost breakdown:

Orange peels - I'm counting these as free since they would normally be tossed and we buy oranges anyway.

Sugar - About $2.50 worth of organic Turbinado from TJ's.

Water - Free

Organic Fair Trade Dark Chocolate Bar from TJ's (optional) - $2

I haven't decided what I will be using the orange syrup for yet, but I think I might use it to make a rhubarb sauce.  You could use it to add to tea, for summer cocktails, basically anywhere you would use simple syrup.

Have you ever made candied citrus peel?  Have you ever tasted it?  These have been getting rave reviews from kids and grown-ups alike, so give it a try!

Make It! Powdered Sugar

Photo Credit: Foodiewoodie

Did you know you can make powdered sugar? Next time you run out of it, there is no need to run to the store for a frosting emergency!

I did it myself last night (frosting emergencies are real, people). 

I had read somewhere once that powdered sugar was nothing more than granulated sugar turned into a powder with a little added cornstarch.  Well, I left out the cornstarch and just put some in my coffee grinder. It came out perfectly!

Definitely a must do when you're in a pinch!