VegInDC

 I had some leftover kale from making my African Peanut stew this week. I was looking for recipes that would feature the kale and other pantry staples so I didn't have to get anything special. It was really delicious! 

Traditional dal often has cream and ghee, so its not a vegan dish. However, I recently found a good recipe online that I have adapted to suit our own tastes. This dish goes really well over some basmati rice and a side of naan. Top it with some coconut based sour cream as well for a cooling effect.

Inspired by this recipe , this take on dal is quick and tasty. I used vegetable bouillon because I didn't have vegetable broth, but either way is better than just using water to cook the lentils.

A few weeks ago I made a lentil quinoa soup . It was warming and delicious. Today I was craving a more traditional lentil soup, so I made a Moroccan style soup. This can be made in the slow cooker set to low for about 8 hours, or it can be made much quicker on the stove in about one hour.

Anne wasn't feeling too well today, so we decided soup was the best course of action for healing. Luckily I picked up a slow cooker/crockpot for only $10 at a Black Friday sale at Macy's. This recipe is courtesy of Savvy Vegetarian.  If you don't have a slow cooker, check out the link above for a version of this recipe that uses a pot on the stove. If you do have a slow cooker, much of the preparation time is spent in the beginning of this recipe.

Yesterday was probably the coldest day of the season so far. When I got home I was craving something warm, but easy and quick to prepare. Luckily, I had a package of pre-cooked lentils from Trader Joe's. I found some recipes online for a lentil/rice "meat"loaf and decided to try them.  If you don't have pre-cooked lentils on hand this is still very easy, but it will take a bit longer to prepare. A note on the seasonings: you really can be creative and do what you like here. I used marjoram and basil, but you can also try different combinations. Taste the mixture before baking to make sure the lentils are flavorful, but you really can't go wrong.

Last night Anne and I were busy cleaning the apartment, addressing wedding invitations (we finished, huzzah!), and I didn't really have time to make anything too elaborate to eat. We realized around 8:30 that we hadn't eaten dinner and wanted something filling and quick. Voila!--enter the mighty lentil. The first recipe I blogged was my simple dal . Lentils are so versatile and nutritious, I have come up with many ways of using them in my cooking. This variation on the above recipe is called "Buttery Dal." I use yellow lentils, and don't add the curry powder, but that's about it.  I also briefly cook the garlic, ginger, mustard seeds and cardamom pods together in some oil before adding the lentils, cloves and water.

I love lentils. More specifically, I love dal. While there is nothing usually too exciting about dal for vegetarians, I thought I would include my favorite easy dal recipe.  Mark Bittman  is easily one of my favorite food writers. I have read  How to Cook Everything  and  How to Cook Everything Vegetarian  on more than one occasion. I even have the iPhone apps for the books (which are fantastic!)