oh...and here I thought I invented it.

when I was in unversity my claim to fame was the "one pot wonder" meals. Take a bunch of ingredients that look like they'd taste good together, throw them in a pot and wish to high heaven that you didn't waste your last five bucks on mush. I can say that nine times out of 10 it didn't turn out that bad (there was that one time with the green peas and rice I'd like to forget about but I digress).

In my quest to eat healthfully, I decided one lunch last week to make a lentil dish. I threw a can of lentils in a pot, along with some curry powder, pepper, cilantro and cumin and hoped for the best. Honestly it smelled a bit funky at first and I was worried. But it wasn't bad at all! I made it right before a call for work so I only got to eat a few bites and all I could think about was eating more...

Anyway long story short I thought I had invited a new dish - well kind of -- I know they make something like this in the indian restaurants but this was my take on it of course... and then I found it in one my cookbooks and I realized I had read the recipe already! Oh well...I made it again tonight for dinner with a few changes and it was even better than the first one! I took this picture on my second helping which is why the dish is all chauchy.



Ok so here is what I did (I'll warn you now -- I don't really measure things...):

What you'll need:
>1 can of lentils
>1/2 cup of diced onion
>1 garlic clove diced
>Half of a red or orange pepper diced
>a bunch of baby spinach julienned
>a sprinkle or two each of:
cilantro
cumin
paprika
curry spice (or the real indian spices if you have them)
pepper
a very small amount of red pepper flakes (like 4 flakes...unless you like it HOT)
oh and a bit of oil (I used canola oil)

What you do:
>Close all your bedroom doors cause this puppy is going to smell up the house. My bedroom is right off the kitchen so I smell everything in there...and then my clothes start to smell like it...ugh)

>Heat up the oil and add the diced onions and garlic; cook until translucent - 4 mins

>Add red/orange pepper and spinach and cook for another minute or two

>Add the can of lentils

>While that is simmering, add all your spices

>Let it simmer for about 10 more minutes to meld all of the tastes together.

ENJOY!

This would be really tasty with a yummy piece of Naan, but if you don't have any, a flatbread or pita will suffice.

(can you tell I'm procastinating on my sewing projects????)