Lentils with cilantro & an interview

I can never ever stick to a recipe.  I had planned to make “Red Lentils with Coriander” (Masoor ki dal) from my new cookbook, the Asian Vegan Kitchen for dinner on Tuesday, but it came out much differently.  I didn’t even use red lentils.  Here’s what I came up with.

Lentils with Cilantro

Ingredients (serves 3-4)

• 1/2 cup lentils (dry)
• 2 cups of water
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 2 stalks of celery, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• dash of sea salt
• 1.5 teaspoons (at least!) Asian 5-spice powder (I used the one I got in my present from Leng; so good!)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 teaspoons ginger, freshly chopped
• 1/2 large white onion, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions

1. Soak the lentils in water for 10-20 minutes.  Drain.  Combine the lentils with the 2 cups of water in a saucepan and bring to a boil.  Add the turmeric, salt, carrot, and celery.  Reduce heat to medium and cover; cook for about 20-25 minutes longer.
2. In  a large saute pan, heat the oil over high heat.  Add the onion, ginger, and 5-spice powder.  Saute for about 2 minutes.
3. Add the cooked lentils to the saucepan (and more water if needed) and mix well to heat it through.  Add the cilantro at the last minute and remove from heat.  Serve hot.

Enjoy.  I had mine plain, and Bobby had his with white rice.  Bobby loves everything about being macrobiotic (he’s lactose intolerant to begin with), but he cannot live without his white rice.  Sigh.  I tried.

I have good news on my gum addiction – I went cold turkey on Sunday right after I posted about it and I haven’t had a piece since.

I also got interviewed by Anna over at the Blue Plate Special…

1. You’re a regular practitioner of vinyasa yoga- what brings you back to your mat everyday? In other words, what do you love most about yoga?
   

   So many things. I’m going to mention a couple – first, it really lets me clear my mind and stop thinking so much (my mind is usually running a mile a minute). It’s also something that I can do anytime, anywhere – all I need is my mat.  Flowing with the breath (the meaning of vinyasa) helps me understand my body better.

2. Describe the best/most memorable meal you have ever eaten.
   

   One of my favorite meals was back in college.  Bobby and I had a favorite Italian restaurant called Zaza’s.  Every time that we went I would get a green salad and steamed mussels, and they had the best (warm and fresh!) bread for dipping in the white wine mussel sauce.  There were so many herbs in in the sauce (including oregano, my favorite), and sopping up the flavors with that bread was heaven.  We always got dessert.  Sometimes it was real Italian bread pudding, sometimes chocolate mousse, and sometimes fresh sorbet.  I miss Zaza’s.

3. If you were a kitchen appliance/tool/gadget, which one would you be and why?
   

   I would be a ceramic knife.  I love these, and I just ordered a nice little set off of Amazon (the price – not so little).  Bobby’s mom introduced me to them – she has a wonderful knife from Japan.  I don’t think I’m particularly knifelike, but ceramic knives are probably my favorite things to use.



4. What is your favorite aspect of being a part of this blogging community?
   

   I love how readers/commenters/other bloggers are so supportive and so helpful.  I’ve learned a lot from my bloggies.

5. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
   

   I have never been to Hawaii, but it sounds perfect.  Always warm/hot, with beautiful sunny weather.  (I’m perpetually cold so I want to go somewhere perpetually warm.)

Thanks again Anna!  I just found her blog and I love it.  Readers: feel free to leave your answers to these questions in the comments.

If you have questions that I haven’t answered, or anything that you want to discuss, just leave it in the comments today and I promise to get back to you.  I try to respond to every question, but sometimes I miss one 🙂  Happy Thursday!