annette's lentils

I am always looking for cheap recipes, recipes that I am excited to make, are simple to prepare, and (most importantly) are healthful. Annette's Lentils cover all these necessities. It's a vegetarian dish, so the first few times we had it, Mark had to be very convinced that it was yummy. Thankfully, if I make it spicy, he thinks it's yummy. Making things spicy has become a tactic I am using more and more often ;) About three times ago, Mark said something like, "It's refreshingly earthy." That is a compliment! And progress.

Anyway, Annette is a very cool friend who is FULL of really cool ideas. If you need anymore convincing as to just how very cool Annette is, check out her website: http://comohomestead.com/ One night she suggested the lentils and BAM, they became a regular around here.

Here's how you throw them together:

1 cup of lentils
4 cups of water (this is the ratio of water : any dry beans ...I think garbanzos might be an exception)

Bring the water to a boil, add the lentils. You can cook them until the water is gone (like you would rice) or occassionally taste a wee lentil and remove them from heat when they're as tender as you prefer. If you let the water boil off, they'll be kinda mushy. I always *kind of* rinse the lentils. But not too much, otherwise, you might lose some of the "meat" of the lentils...

2 cups of water
1 cup of rice (I prefer to mix up the kind of rice I use, so we don't get tired of eating it. I am not hating on white rice, especially Jasmine. But, honestly, it's way healthier to use brown rice, a blend or some other fun grain, like quinoa or barley).

Bring the water to a boil, add the rice. Cover, reduce heat to LOW. Depending on the rice/grain you choose, it may take between 10 and 25 minutes for it to cook. Key to making perfect rice is airtightness and NOT checking it. Get to know your grain -- typical brown rice takes 20 minutes to cook, so unless you smell it burning, don't check it.

Here's the fun part: ONION! Woot. I use one whole onion (though I am pretty sure Annette told me to use 2). Slice it longways (this adds texture, but if you don't care about texture, cut it however you like ;)). I like my onions carmelized -- crispy brown. I'll often add a clove or two or three of garlic. Really, our bodies love onion and garlic and pepper (because they cleanse our cells), so I use a lot of them in most everything I cook. So you cook (and slice) your onions how you prefer. Add lots and lots of black pepper, probably 2-3 teaspoons. (Obviously, you can use as much or as little pepper as you like, but lentils need seasoning, so lots of black pepper is an easy solution.)

Toss the cooked lentils with the cooked onions and serve over rice.

Hubby recently discovered that he loves his lentils with cottage cheese. Cottage cheese is one of Abe's mainstays, so we always have some on hand.  Plus it adds a bit more protein, which can never hurt.

I have to interject cost, because it really is my primary motivation in preparing this dish. A bag of lentils is about $2. You'll get 2.5 uses out of one bag. Good rice is $3/bag, and you'll get 2.5 uses out of it. Onions are $3/bag and you only need 1 (or 2 if that suits your fancy). So we're talking, max, $4 for this entire dish, which serves 4. My friends, that's $1 per person.