BLOG

Lentil and Sausage Soup recipe from Balanza Vineyard

Chaly and I love lentils.  We have enjoyed this recipe with the simplest and most accessible Oregon Pinots and also some of the most coveted Oregon Pinots.  While we are Dundee Hills people, the earthiness of lentils lends itself really well to some of the wines from our Yamhill Carlton or Ribbon Ridge natives.   During quarantine, we could not find lentils at the store for 2-3 weeks and I got so nervous that I found a Washington state grower that sold online via amazon and bought a bulk amount of Lentils.  We just finished them off a week ago. 

Balanza Family Lentil Soup
Ingredients:
2 cups Lentils
5 cups chicken stock (we like better than bouillon low salt with water)
Linguica Sausage (11 oz package)
1 green pepper
2 medium carrots
1 medium yellow onion
2 stalks of celery
2 roma tomatoes
2 large cloves of garlic
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp smoked paprika (we use Bolivian Ahi but when we don’t have it smoked paprika is nice)
1 tsp cayenne pepper
3/4 tsp tunmeric
1/2 tsp ground coriander
2 bay leaves
parsley
pinch of nutmeg
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Dice all vegetables (including the tomatoes)
Slice the sausage links 
In a large stock pot, sauté the green pepper, carrots, onion, celery, garlic in a little bit of olive oil until the onions are soft but not brown.
Add diced tomatoes, broth, spices, and lentils.
Bring everything to a nice simmer
Add the sliced sausage and simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour
Salt and pepper to taste
Stir in some chopped parsley (1/4 cup)
Garnish with parsley 
Serve with crusty bread
Note: if you prefer lentils as a side dish rather than a soup, don’t add as much  broth. 
 

Mar 15, 2021 at 1:34 PM Permalink

Easy slowcooker recipe from Harvest 2020: Chicken with Lemon & Ginger

Food is important during harvest. When you're working 12+ hours a day, seven days a week for several weeks, good food is something that helps you keep going physically and it's something to look forward to during the work day. However, sometimes it's hard to know exactly when you'll be able to break to eat, so I prepared our crew meals in my crockpot. This recipe was one of my favorite harvest meals (and the crew seemed to like it too). The preparation is quick and it's super healthy. Recipe courtesy of the Paleo Slow Cooker.

salt & pepper just before serving

Mix cinnamon, cumin & turmeric in a bowl and toss the chicken to coat. In a heavy bottom-ed pan over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of ghee and saute the onion and garlic until onion is transulcent, about 5 minutes. Transfer to the slow cooker. Melt the remaining ghee in the padd and add the chicken. Brown on both sides in batches for about 5 minutes a batch. Transfer the chicken and remaining ghee to the slow cooker. Combine the rest of the ingredients in a bowl (I just throw them in to the slow cooker), then transfer to the slow cooker and cook on low for 4-6 hours (or until the crew is ready to eat it :) Salt and pepper to taste, then serve. (I add the salt and pepper with the other ingredients as I know I'll forget to do it when it's time to eat and I'm trying to manage incoming grapes. I think about a half tsp of freshly ground black pepper and a tsp of good salt is about right for my taste.)

Nov 17, 2020 at 1:03 PM Permalink

Easy beef stew with a little help from Julia Child....

I love Julia’s boeuf bourgignon recipe but these days, as a single parent with two teenagers in the house, it just isn’t realistic for me to follow it to the letter. This recipe keeps the essence of it but is a lot quicker to put together.  This pairs wonderfully with the newly released 2018 Willful Seven Hills Vineyard Cabernet-Merlot.

Saute the onion in the olive oil over a low heat until it softens and starts to turn a golden color. Add the garlic, thyme and rosemary and cook for another minute or two stirring occasionally. Add the bacon and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the celery and carrots and cook for another 3-4 minutes stirring occasionally. Turn the heat up to medium and add the beef and cook for 6-8 minutes. Stir it as occasionally to stop it from sticking to the pan and cook until the meat is browned on all sides. Sprinkly the flour over the meat, stir thoroughly and cook for 1-2 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the tomato paste, bay leaves, red wine and beef stock and transfer the pot to the oven. Cook at 350F for three to three and a half hours. This is a great Sunday dish as you can throw it together and then go on a hike or something and when you come back you have a lovely dinner ready.

Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley to garnish and serve with mashed potatoes.

Pair with 2018 Willful Seven Hills Vineyard Cabernet-Merlot.

Mar 20, 2020 at 6:46 AM Permalink

Comfort food and Pinot Noir for self isolation

My boys are off of school for the next "who-knows-how-long" and we're self-isolating for the next week. Today we cooked Chicken and Dumplings. We made an extra large batch and canned some of it for our friends and relatives who are older and have compromised immune systems. It's super easy to make and goes great with the 2018 Jezebel pinot noir, which is really affordable, just $18/bottle or $14.40 if you join the wine club. Any new wine club members get free shipping for their first shipment too! Here's the recipe. It will feed 6-8 people. 

Mar 17, 2020 at 4:28 PM Permalink