Day 2...Soup's On

Day 2...

Me and my lambkin stop for a photo op on the outskirts of the Culpeper Farmers Market.

I had a glorious time in Culpeper, Virginia with my folks.

We had a ball.

We even went to the Culpeper Farmers Market.  I used to be a vendor there a few years back so there were many familiar faces and friends.

I actually didn't want to go.  To many people. The thought of people everywhere asking "where've you been" and such rot was debilitating.

Nosy Parkers.

I'm just kidding.  I like these people.  I just forgot that most of them were extremely nice.  All except my arch-nemesis. The Fish Monger.  You know who you are. I felt your death stare. But, in the words of the late Tupac Shakur, "I ain't mad at cha."

Any who, my sister and I got super-caffeinated upon entering the market because of an amazing roasted coffee company that just so happened to serve iced coffee on a warm summer morning.  We even had Seconds, which was a bad idea for me, after we had bought all of our goodies.

Our goodies included: beets, a variety of kale I'd never seen before, five different varieties of garlic (yes, 5, and he probably had 20 to pick from) and other scrumptious stuff.

We stashed our veggies in the car and traipsed down Davis Street to a childhood favorite, Knakals Bakery.  As soon as we opened the door to the bakery I was hit by a wave of nausea.  I turned 50 shades of Green.  I thought I was going to toss my cookies and then crawl across the counter and toss their cookies.  That place that used to be, to me, the smell of heavens gates but in an instant became Dantes Inferno with Mephistopheles taking money for doughnuts across the cut glass (I know, it was really Faust and Meph).

They are so sassy in there.  Reminds me of the Seinfeld episode with the Soup Nazi.  I'm always prepared to be neglected or worse when I go into Knakals, but assaulted by the smell was a new injustice.

We 23 skadoo-ed, and legged it to my new favorite place.  A place were dreams are made every day: Clark's Hardware.

I lived in Culpeper for nearly 20 years and never set foot into Clark's Hardware until Julie took me by the metaphorical hand and shoved me in the door with the hope of cast-iron cookware within its walls.

That place is A-MAZE-ING!!!

I have set my cap on a 16-inch Lodge Dutch Oven. She will be mine. Oh, yes. She will be mine.

Clark's has it all for the avid gardener, the constant cook and something for your hobbyhorse's horse.
The place is an inspiration waiting to happen.

After I picked out my birfday, Christmas, Easter, Saint Valentin'es Day and every other major holiday, presents for the next six years, we left with a promise on our lips that we'd be back.

I was so psyched that when I went home I was bound and determined to cook Dutch oven style again.  I made two phenoms: a lentil stew and cornbread.

Lentil Stew in the campfire coals.

Lentil Stew
1 1/2 cups green lentils, dry
1 medium sweet potato, diced
1 large yellow onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 big tomato, chopped
3 cups water
1 can (14 oz.) coconut milk
2 tsp. Bangarang or seasoned salt
2 tsp. Chinese Five spice powder

It's done and ready to be dressed.

Toss all of the ingredients into your Dutch Oven and lid.

Place in a bed of ten or so hot coals.  Add at least 16 on top of the lid. Add hot coals when needed.  Let cook for an hour to an hour and a half, or until the lentils are done and the sweet potato is soft.

Slap on those high heat gloves.  Brush the coals and ash off of the top and gently open the lid a little to let of steam.

Remove lid.

Serve the stew piping hot in bowls.

When serving the hot stew you can add:
1 bunch of kale, chiffonade cut
1 or 2 jalapenos, minced
a few sprigs of basil and cilantro, minced

Also, you can substitute 3 cups of cooked lentils for the dry lentils and reduce the water to 14 oz.












Cornbread

Cornbread ready to go into the coals.

2 1/4 cup cornmeal
3 Tbsp. chia seeds, ground
3 Tbsp. sugar
3 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda

3 Tbsp. coconut oil, melted
2 3/4 cup almond/coconut milk

In a big bowl, toss together all of the dry ingredients.  Then dump those ingredients into a well oiled Dutch Oven.  Stir in the wet ingredients until well combined.

Put the lid on.

Place DO in a bed of 10 hot coals.  Cover the top with coals as well.

Cook for 30-40 minutes. Put on those high heat gloves. Give the lid the Brush-a-Roo. Remove the lid carefully.

 Cut cornbread, remove from DO and let it cool on a wire rack.

The best dag-gone dinner I've had in ages!

The most moist cornbread I've ever had.