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Daily Archives: November 13, 2010

Lazy Lentils

Yesterday’s Get-Better-Chicken-Noodle-Stoup was robust and hearty and satisfying! Alas, my sinus is still plugged up and I’m still sneezing like crazy, so I had myself another big bowl tonight. Here’s to hoping the stoup will work its magic soon!

Last night, the stoup was paired with paninis! I luuuurve paninis!

This scrumptious sandwich included:

  • mild capicolla
  • turkey breast
  • lettuce
  • tomato
  • cucumber
  • pea sprouts
  • cheddar cheese
  • bococcini

All placed between 2 slices of Dempster’s Ancient Grain whole grain bread, with a bit of mustard. A light drizzle of olive oil, place in the handy dandy George Foreman grill for a few minutes, and voila! Panini. Yum.

Today, I had a hankering for lentils, but didn’t feel much like cooking anything complicated, so I opted for Lazy Lentils. Lazy because the whole thing takes less than a half hour, requires few ingredients, and is so easy to make. It’s my take on a lovely lentil dish that my former roommate in university, Esther, used to make. The lentils get very soft and sort of meld together into a thick, melt-in-your-mouth texture. Totally comfort food for cold weather. I watched Esther make it a few times, but unfortunately never wrote down the ingredients or instructions. So I went by my memory of how it tasted to come up with this:

Lazy Lentils

  • 1 C split red lentils
  • 1 onion, finely diced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tsp fresh ginger, minced
  • 1 TB olive oil
  • 1 TB ground cumin
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp dried thyme
  • 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 C low-sodium chicken broth
  • 2 C water
  • lemon or orange zest

Rinse and drain lentils. Heat oil in a pot over medium heat. Add onions and cook for a few minutes until the onions begin to turn translucent and soft.

Add garlic and ginger. Cook for another few minutes until fragrant and the onions begin to turn a bit golden. Add cumin, cinnamon, thyme, and pepper. Cook for 1 minute.

Add a splash of either the broth or water and de-glaze the pot. In goes the lentils and the rest of the broth/water. Turn up temperature to med-high. Once it returns to a rolling boil, turn down temperature to med-low, cover, and cook for a further 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure the mixture does not stick to the bottom of the pot. The lentils are done when they have absorbed all the liquid and become very soft and mushy.

We served it over some cooked red and brown rice, and topped with a bit of orange zest.

Comfort food again. Cheered me up even as I attempted to clear my sinuses and struggled to pronounce my m’s and n’s properly.

I’m currently watching the adorable and quirky movie, “Juno”. I *heart* the music in this movie! So cute and random and heartwarming. And my favourite quote from the movie, spoken by Juno’s dad:

“The best thing you can do is find a person who loves you for exactly what you are. Good mood, bad mood, ugly, pretty, handsome, what have you; the right person is still going to think the sun shines out your ass. That’s the kind of person that’s worth sticking with.”

In the past few days, I’ve been a walking ball of mucous and germs, with a side of grumpiness. And yet, Len still gives me hugs, smiles, and back rubs. I think I found that person.

 

Posted by on November 13, 2010 in Kitchen Adventures

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