Tasty Cracker and Yummy lentil dip recipes

I realize its been a while since I have shared a recipe. I recently made this cracker and some lentil and roasted onion dip for a potluck. Everyone seemed to really like it, so I will share :)

I really like this cracker bread recipe- it's actually a type of pizza dough that I just rolled really thinly, and then pressed seeds/nuts into the top. You get a more crisp cracker if you roll it thin and more of a bready cracker if you don't roll it as thin. Whatever your preference is!

The recipes are as follows:

Tasty Crackers

2 1/4 tsp yeast
1 1/3 c warm water

Add:

31/2 to 3 3/4 c all-purpose flour (I did a mixture of our homegrown hard red wheat and soft white which is sort of like all-purpose, and I bet all whole wheat would be pretty tasty too- also I imagine you could leave the flour to soak overnight, WAPF style and then continue with the recipe)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp sea salt

Mix by hand, or on low speed for until ingredients are mixed. The knead for for 10 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic. Transfer bowl to lightly oiled bowl and cover with damp towel.  Let rise in warm, draft free place until doubled in volume (not such a big deal if making crackers)

Preheat oven to 450F. Roll out dough on counter (sprinkle with flour to prevent sticking) until the dough is 1/8" thick. Transfer onto oiled baking sheet.

At this point you can sprinkle toppings like sesame, poppy, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, etc. I pressed them into the top of the dough with my fingers after I drizzled a bit of olive oil onto the dough. (this should help the seeds adhere to the dough). The recipe also says you can brush melted butter or beaten egg onto the tops of the crackers instead of olive oil. Score lines into the rolled dough using a pizza cutter to any size you like. I did about 1 x 2' squares roughly.   Bake 6-9 minutes until golden brown.

Lentil and Roasted Onion Dip

2 c  red lentils
2 medium onion
1 bulb garlic (as in, several cloves)

Soak the lentils in 3 cups water for a few hours. Meanwhile, cut the onions in half, add the garlic drizzle with oil in a baking dish, and broil at 425 for 45 minutes.  Next, rinse the lentils, add fresh water. Bring to a boil, turn down the simmer gently for 20 or so minutes until lentils are soft. Drain and let cool.

Put onions and lentils in food processor.

Add about:

 (I didn't measure these ingredients, you could just roughly add what I suggest and then keep taste testing so that the dip suits your preference)

 2 tsp apple cider vinegar

 2 tsp garlic powder (if you didn't have fresh garlic)

cumin

coriander

paprika

cayenne

Blend all ingredients until smooth. 

Variations: Add roasted eggplant instead of onions, skip the cumin, coriander and  use fresh basil in combination with the rest of the seasonings, use roasted peppers instead of onions or eggplant...

Enjoy the dip spread on your delicious crackers!

Also, don't forget. We are a small farm in Bowden, Alberta. We grow heritage grains, (wheat, rye, barley). If you are interested in purchasing flour, or whole grains from us we do a share program where you can sign up to receive deliveries of grain that was stone-ground in small batches. For more info on our grain shares (as well as our pastured poultry shares, and naturally grown herbs) please visit our website!

2012 Duck and Turkey shares now for sale!

Duck Share:

Back in October Daniel and I purchased 1 mother and 20 ducklings. We, with the help of the mother duck of course, have been raising them with the intent of keeping them as a breeding flock. We are thrilled with how healthy they are and how fast they are sizing up. Once the ducklings are mature and laying eggs, we will leave those eggs under the new mothers. With a little bit of luck and lots of care, we will have a new batch of ducklings! These are the ones that we will then raise for our 2012 shares. (Christmas dinner, anyone?)

Our ducks are being raised in a compassionate way. They have lots of space. This includes plenty of outdoor space during the summer and winter-they really like scooping up mouth-fulls of snow in the winter. They also have enough space inside their cozy coop for the days when they feel lazy. We also inspect them daily to ensure that they are healthy and happy.

As you know, we manage our farm with the CSA system, meaning we will be pre-selling "shares" of meat for the year 2012.

If you would like to secure yourself a duck, (or two, or three) please contact us and we will put you on our list.

Here are the details:
You can email us to be put on our waiting list now.
We will sell the duck shares as they hatch. So, as soon as they are hatching (early spring) we will email you first and you will pay a deposit of $15 dollars, which secures you your very own duck. We will then proceed to raise these ducklings. Once they are finished, and have been butchered and frozen (at a provincially inspected facility), we will bring them to a pre-determined delivery point. Upon delivery you will pay $3.75 a pound. We will be able to deliver anytime in the fall- perhaps in time for thanksgiving and or Christmas 2012.

Turkey Share:

The turkey shares will function similarly, except we will not be able to hatch our own in the spring. Instead, we will be taking your names on our waiting list now and then purchasing as many poults (baby turkeys) as we need in the spring from a hatchery (. We will then raise these turkeys and sell them in the exact same fashion as the ducks. So, email us now to be put on our list. Then we will be accepting the $20 deposit in March 2012 when we are ordering the turkeys. We will then proceed to raise these turkeys, and they will be ready in time for thanksgiving- or Christmas 2012 (your choice! the Christmas turkeys will end up being slightly heavier).

All our meats (ducks, turkeys and chickens) will always be butchered at a provincially inspected facility. They will also be butchered close to the delivery date to ensure freshness.

2011 Grain Shares NOW available!!

Starting in October/November 2011, we will be delivering the first shares of our grain CSA program to Calgary, Red Deer, Olds and area.

By signing up for our grain CSA for 2011-2012, you will be signing up to recieve a delivery of freshly milled or flaked grains every other week. We will be supplying you for an entire year.  At each delivery, you will receive a 1kg bag of either whole wheat flour made from heritage wheat or flaked oats. They are being grown absolutley free of synthetic chemics, so you are receiving a fresh, nutritious and naturally grown product. 

We are now beginning to take names on our waiting list for the grain share. We intend to offer 50 shares for our first year and slowly increasing the size as it makes sense for us. Unfortunately, we won't know how much of a yield we expect to have until September or October, as the growing season can vary depending on the year we have, so we won't start taking payments or confirming anything until then.

This is what you do to be first in line for your very own share in our grain harvest!

1. Email us at countrythymefarm@gmail.com or visit our website
2. You will be entered onto our waiting list
3. In the first week of october we will contact you and confirm your membership and begin accepting payments
4. You will be meeting us every other week at the designated delivery points in Red Deer, Calgary, and Olds and receive your fresh oats or flour!
5. That's it!

Some details pending... you can visit our website for more information. If you have any questions at all, please email us and we will be happy to talk with you.