Eating and living locally . . . mindfully . . . simply.
Last Saturday I took a class on Simple Cooking. We had delicious beans, rice, and coleslaw dishes. I was inspired to find the local store that someone said had a great selection of dried beans and lentils. Tonight I dug out my copy of Extending the Table: A World Community Cookbook and decided to try a variation of the recipe for East Indian Spinach and Lentils.
On a recent stock-the-pantry trip to Costco, DH picked up some stuffed salmon fillets. For some reason after a long day of shopping I really don’t feel like cooking, so we took the easy route. He grilled the salmon while I made this easy-peasy side dish. I’m always looking for an excuse to get out my rice cooker!
If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you know that cooking and eating simply, locally and in season is one of my passions. We’re about 2/3rds of the way through this series, so now would be a good time to recap.
When I saw this recipe in one of my old Clean Eating Magazines (July/August 2010), I thought “aha! What a good way to use up the carrots that have been hiding in my refrigerator.”
I know, I’m not usually a fan of making leftovers into something else. But I had a free range chicken just begging to be used as DH and I barely put a dent in it the other day. So I turned to More-With-Less Cookbook (World Community Cookbook) and found a recipe that would put it to good use.
I haven’t been on top of my meal planning lately, so last night I found myself wondering what to make for dinner, or perhaps whether to get Thai or pizza. Then I remembered the split peas lurking in my pantry. So I hauled out my copy of More with Less and decided to give this recipe a try.
When suppertime came around, I was not too hungry but wanted a little something; so I looked through my cookbooks to find something quick, easy, and which would work well for lunch tomorrow. As soon as I saw this recipe in The Food Matters Cookbook: 500 Revolutionary Recipes for Better Living I knew it fit the bill.
(the following tips are my own and not from the book pictured above) 1. Participate in a CSA. And use ALL of it. Many people balk at the sight of the up-front costs, but we’ve found it is a deal if you can eat all of it. It does take some preparation and planning (I’ll be posting about how we do it this CSA season starting when our CSA starts next week). Also, take advantage of any U-pick opportunities, and {Read More}
Taco Seasoning is something that is super easy to make yourself. It’s cheaper than store-bought, you don’t have to remember to keep it on hand, and you know exactly what’s in it and how to pronounce all the ingredients. Isn’t that true for so many things? Like dressing, for example. Or pancakes. Which reminds me of a funny thing that happened right after I got married.
So my “it’s not dinner if it doesn’t have meat” DH was actually excited when I told him that I was making Ethiopian Lentil Bowl from Simply in Season. I asked him why, and he said that lentils remind him of onions. Ohhh kaaay. I had never cooked with lentils before this project, and the last time was Red Lentil Coconut Curry. That dish was delish but time-consuming. And I got the lentils all over the place because I misjudged {Read More}
