While most everyone else is digging out from the last winter storm, we're just plain cold here in North Carolina--not a flake in sight. I'm kind of over all the this snow business, anyway, although I would like one more snow storm, preferably some time in early February, right around when we're feeling really tired and dragged out, and craving a little excitement in our lives.
All this cold weather has resulted in a flurry of baking and cooking this week. I've made two batches of those mini doughnuts (I snuck in a handful of hemp seeds into the second batch and L., who didn't even notice the difference, scarfed down four in one sitting), one batch of soft pretzels (again, powered-up with the hemp seeds), and a tray of T.'s favorite blueberry muffins (it veganized wonderfully when I used egg replace instead of the egg). I've also been experimenting with various lentil and bean dishes, having recently discovered that when you add garam masala (I buy mine already mixed from Whole Foods) to anything with chick peas and/or lentils your dish is instantly transformed into something deliciously exotic and soul-satisfying. A dinner of spicy and fragrant lentils over basmati rice is just heavenly, I think, on a cold, January evening; and the leftovers can cheer up even the most dragged-out frustrating day.
Wednesday night was the perfect hearty lentil-dish night. Wednesdays always need some cheering up, I think, because they always feel difficult to get through, stuck like that in the middle of the week. I made my favorite lentil soup on the weekend, so I was looking for a quick stew/soup dish that would make enough leftovers for the both of us to take into work the next day. I found the perfect recipe in The Vegan Table cookbook, and I tweaked it by cutting back on the onion, upping lemon juice, and tossing in some capers, which complemented the artichoke hearts beautifully.
Red Lentils with Artichokes and Tomatoes (adapted from The Vegan Table)
1 1/2 cups water, plus 1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium-sized onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, diced
3 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 cup dry red lentils (you can use other lentils, too--I've often substituted ordinary brown ones for red lentils)
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 15-ounce cans chopped tomatoes, undrained
1 15 ounce can artichoke hearts, drained, cut, and quartered
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon capers
Salt and pepper to taste
Saute the diced onion and chopped garlic in oil and 1 tablespoon water until both are softened. Add cumin, and coriander and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add remaining 1 1/2 water, lentils, lemon juice, tomatoes and artichoke hearts and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer until the lentils are tender. I added a tad more water (about 1/2 cup) about halfway through the cooking, and it was all done in 30 minutes. Serve over a bed of white rice, or orzo pasta.
Happy Weekend!