So the Story Goes...

that a member of the King's court walked by a peasant eating lentils. "If you'd learn to be subordinate yourself to the King, you wouldn't need to eat lentils," he told the peasant. "If you'd learn to eat lentils," replied the peasant, "you wouldn't need to subordinate yourself to the King."

I decided that Friday is recipe day, and there's going to be a focus ingredient. Carla asked in a note if I had any good lentil recipes, as she's seen me buying them, so in honor of Carla, this first recipe post is themed to lentils.

I love lentils because they're such a leveler. They're cheap cheap cheap to buy, so they make great, super-miserly meals. They're nutritious, so us parents trying to wean ourselves from McDonald's should be getting acquainted with them. But they're also really yummy and versatile, so they've become very fabulous and show up, gingerly prepared in an emulsion of duck something, in exclusive restaurants.

I have to admit, in the last few, post-kid years, I've been a better purchaser-with-good-intentions of lentils than preparer of them. Often, I'm not a great fan of the lentil -- too many times recipes seem to bring out the inner mealy texture, which I don't consider a feature. So I either like recipes (like the first here) where the lentils are cooked past the mealy stage, or others (like the second) where they're still a bit firm and keep their shape.

Lentil-Rice Casserole harkens back to the days in my 20s when I was single and saving for a house and reading The Tightwad Gazette, where the recipe comes from:

3 cups chicken broth
3/4 cup lentils
1/2 cup brown rice, uncoocked
3/4 cup chopped onion
A couple smashed and minced cloves of garlic
1/2 tsp sweet basil
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp garlic powder

Mix this all together and throw it all into a casserole dish. Bake, covered, for about 90 minutes. You can eat it just like it is, or you can use it for pita or tortilla filling. Truthfully, eating it totally plain always feels a bit spartan to me, but I love excess, so you might like it just fine that way.


Herbed Lentils are a really nice side dish, especially with veggie burgers. I just found this recipe in a recent issue of Weight Watchers magazine that I picked up while standing in a check-out line feeling pudgy. Here's what you do:

3/4 cup lentils
4 large sprigs thyme
2 tsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 carrots, diced
2 or 3 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup broth
1/3 cup chopped fresh herbs
1 or 2 Tbs tarragon or other soft vinegar (no balsamic -- it's too harsh)
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

Put the lentils in a saucepan with the thyme and enough water to cover by 1", and get those things boiling. Boil the lentils for about 20 minutes -- until they're "firm tender," as they say.

Heat the oil in a big nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and garlic, and stir a bit for about 5 minutes -- until they're a bit soft. Drain the lentils and thyme, and add them and the broth to the skillet. Bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, stirring once or twice, until the broth is absorbed. This will be about 15 minutes. Throw out the thyme, and then stir in the herbs, vinegar, salt, and pepper.



Meanwhile, I wanted to relay that yesterday morning before work I had a nasty bit of oral surgery done and decided to go with just novocaine -- no putting me under. Which saved us $200 since insurance doesn't consider preventing my being creeped out to be "medically necessary." I don't think Phil gave me enough snaps for my bravery, so I'm posting here what a brave, brave person I was.

Also, here's another look at the reasons I feel so emphatic that we start eating better, preserving regional tastes, supporting local businesses, and protecting the environment: