lentil soup!

it might appear as if its been over two weeks since my last post. this is the longest time i've gone without posting in the few months that i've had my little blog, and that fact is both pathetic and sad. but, that is what happens when you travel and visit family and go to conferences and things like that. i believe i have six posts catch up on before i'm in the clear, so i'll see what i can do to make that happen as i settle into a daily routine, and, also, get. my. dissertation. finished.

so.

a week ago, i made a plain yet delicious lentil soup. i got the recipe from mark bittman's 'how to cook everything vegetarian,' which i received as a holiday gift and which makes me happy.

lentil soup is very easy to make. it involves cooking lentils for a long time with some broth, carrots and celery (again, i hate celery, but it is ok if it is cooked in soup and then either blended or removed, and is not the primary flavor) and spices.

while this is happening, carmelize a bunch of onions in a pan:

and then, you combine the two and mix using your brand new present, mr. immersion blender! and, while we're at it, i'd like to advertise the first thing i learned about immersion blenders: when in shallow waters, they splash. sometimes, you must pour your liquids into a smaller saucepan so that the immersion blender has a better time doing its thing and you don't get wet. true, you are dirtying another pan, but, hopefully, you won't make this mistake a second time. and, by the way, when i say 'you,' i mean me.

add a little salt and pepper, and you are done.

i ate the soup alongside a toasted everything bagel and cream cheese and smoked salmon spread that had travelled nine hours in the car from near the new jersey/new york border. i don't eat this very often, but, boy is it good. if you're ever in westfield, new jersey, i highly recommend 'bagel chateau.' they rock. over and out.

mediterranean lentils and rice!

my step-sister has been on a quest to recreate a mediterranean lentils recipe from an old restaurant. i have no idea if this is anywhere close to what she is looking for, but i googled 'mediterranean lentils,' and this is one of the few things that came up that looked healthy and that wasn't a soup - so this is for her. i really liked it - the next time i make it i would include even more raisins than 1/3 cup. this suggestion would only work if one likes raisins. if not, you'll probably want to go for something else....

one thing that's a big bonus about this recipe is that its CHEAP! one onion? that's nothing. and everyone should already have cumin and cinnamon hiding in their cabinets already.

and lentils are, like, a dolla. that's it. and so is the rice you'll be cooking on the back burner. if you can't spring for fancy veggie broth, boil water and add a broth cube to mix to the lentils. speaking of which, here is the soupy mess before half an hour of simmering...

and after. its true that you have half an hour to do nothing but occasionally stir lentils. what to do with the time? might i suggest motown dance party. you could start with 'money: that's what i want' and sing ironically to the lyrics: "the best things in life are free, but you can give them to the birds and bees. i need money. (that's what i want.)"

then you add fun things tomatoes and raisins...

and let the whole thing blend...

and serve over rice. nice.

snobby joes!

i made snobby joes from veganomicon. what's nice is that, even though its from a book, isa is also kind enough to post it on her blog, the post punk kitchen, so i can also link you to the recipe (if you click here).

snobby joes are like sloppy joes, but different. you have to admit, there's something about sloppy joes you have a fond memory of. maybe its a recent memory. my sister, for example, is an omni and requests sloppy joes on her birthday every. single. year. this is partly because she loves them and partly because she loves the old 'manwich' commercial. i agree with her that sloppy joes can be fun and that its a catchy commercial, although i find the name of the product rather sexist and disturbing.

i think the 'snobby' part comes in because these are non-sexist and healthy, and because they are filled with lentils:

i, myself, am working my way up to loving lentils. this is a great recipe for that. because, you cook them and set them aside as you are also chopping up things like onions and peppers...

look! they change colors when cooked!

then you add the cooked lentils, some tomato sauce, tomato paste, various spices, and cook it up with a bit of maple syrup and yellow mustard. sadly, the pics of the cooking snobby joes were blurry and too embarrassing to post. i know - i was doing so well. oh well.

i'll have to make do with a pic of my finished plate. i served them with a baked sweet potato and some roasted broccoli, which was tossed with some olive oil, lemon juice, and a little minced garlic. i will say that i got full mid-way through and didn't touch the potato. lunch today will be the potato topped with left-over snobby joe(s ?), and i have no doubt it will be fabulous. this is excellent comfort food.