Lentil Curry

Cooked a modified version of the Lentil Curry recipe from The Classic 1000 Indian Recipes (Classic 1000 Cookbook)
for dinner tonight. Had to leave a couple of things out that I didn't have on hand, but it turned out pretty okay, I think. Definitely would make it again. Very similar to this one I found on recipezaar.com: Red Lentil Curry, except instead of the curry seasoning, I used a combination of turmeric, cinnamon, bay leaves, salt, pepper and garlic.

edited version below

Ingredients
1 cup red lentil (I used brown)
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, cut into small pieces
1 tablespoon oil or butter or margarine (for frying)
1/2 teaspoon mustard (didn't put in this one)
2 teaspoons prepared curry powder (or your own selection of curry spices. mine being 1 teas. turmeric, 3/4 teas. cinnamon, 2 bay leaves, dash of pepper)
1 teaspoon chili powder (not big into spice, so I skipped this one)
1 pinch salt
1/2 cup milk (skipped on this one, too)
1-2 cup water (actually, used 3 cups here)
1 can diced tomatoes
spices that should have been added but didn't: 3 cloves, 1/2" ginger root

Directions
1. Wash lentils several times. Boil in pot of 3 cups water with curry powder or seasonings for 20 minutes.
2. Heat oil in a pot and add chopped onion and garlic.
3. When onion is light brown in colour, add to the lentils.
4. Mix in can of diced tomatos.
5. Simmer until lentils are cooked, adding more water of needed.
6. (opt) Add milk about 5 minutes before removeing pot from the stove. Split peas can be used instead of lentils.

Makes 2-3 servings. Serve with rice.

Sicilian Lentil Soup

1. Fry onion, celery, carrots, and garlic in olive oil.
2. Add 4-1/2 cups of water (or add a mix of broth and water to equal 4-1/2 cups), 1 cup of dry lentils, diced tomato, parsley, oregano, basil, turmeric. (opt: diced ham, bacon or chicken)
3. Cook for 30 minutes on medium-low.
4. Add 1/2 cup pasta and cook until tender.

Optional: stir in a handful of raw spinach and some parmesan cheese.
Salt and pepper to taste.

Try these, too:
Lentil Soup, Recipezaar.com #16662
Barley and Lentil Soup, La Cucina Italiana Magazine

Steamed Artichokes

Rinse artichoke and put in a pot. Fill water to cover lower half of artichoke. Cover and steam (medium heat) for about 20-25 minutes. Artichoke will be ready when you can easily pull of a leaf. Melt 1/4 cup of butter for dipping the leaves and soaking the artichoke heart. Enjoy!

Cobb Salad with Chicken

A late night supper tonight ... this time it was Cobb Salad with Chicken

Dressing:
3/4 c olive oil
1/4 c vinegar
1 garlic clove, cut into very small pieces
1 teas. sugar
1 teas Worchestershire sauce
1 teas stone ground mustard
dash of pepper
couple squirts of lemon juice

Mix the dressing in a jar and shake well. Will keep for a week.

Salad:
· Romaine Lettuce
· Crumbled cheese, I had Feta cheese, used about 1/4 cup or so
· Grilled or precooked chicken pieces, I had leftover seasoned chicken
· 1/2 of an avocado, diced
· 5 or 6 cherry tomatoes
· an artichoke heart, because artichokes make anything better
· Cilantro and Parsley seasonings
· dash of salt
· Bacon bits, this probably would be better if you just cook some bacon and crumble over the salad
· a small handful of sesame seeds, for the additional crunch ... I just happened to have some on hand so I threw these in, but I don't think normal Cobb salads actually call for this.

Assemble the salad in the order that the ingredients are listed. Pour some of dressing on top. Serves one.

From the Studio

As I am transitioning my web site off of Geocities, I added a couple of pieces to my collection. See them on my new site ...

Whirlpool

Ship on the Stormy Seas

Fort Worth road trip

I took a short road trip to Fort Worth for the weekend to see my sis and her fam. Here is a random collection of shots taken during today's trip ...

FW, May 09