White Beans with Dill

An adaptation of this recipe (which uses fava beans), we decided to use white beans (cooked in our pressure cooker) and less butter, but everything else was followed to a T.  Very easy and super delicious – also good cold the next day for lunch.

Slow Cooked Baked Beans

When I came across this recipe from the NY Times, I was immediately intrigued.  Beans, kale, tomato sauce slow cooked in an oven for a couple of hours?  SWOON.  The recipe is extremely easy and adaptable.  I did not have the bouquet garni or the herbes de provence and winged it with what we had in the pantry.  I thought that a grating of pecorino would also go well with the breadcrumbs as a topping and the salty flavor of the cheese melded deliciously with the sweetness of the beans.  I also note that I bought the tomato paste and celery with leftover money from last week that we did not document.  We came in under budget, but I forgot to mention we bought some onions, tomato paste, celery, red cabbage and small cucumbers for about $9.

Red Lentil Curry

Made this the other night as a warming dish to fight the cold.  Even though it has a lot of ingredients, it comes together very quickly, makes a lot and can be served up in a variety of ways for leftovers (serve over brown rice, wrap it up in a tortilla or naan, use it later to make veggie burgers, thin it out to make soup, etc.).

Red Lentil Curry

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• pinch of salt
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 1″ piece ginger, grated
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 5.5 cups water
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 2 cups red lentils
• 3 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
• 2 cups arugula, chopped (spinach can be substituted)
• 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

To Do:

1. Heat the oil in large pot over medium heat and cook the onion until translucent – 5 minutes or so.
2. Puree the garlic, ginger and 1/2 cup water in a blender and add the mixture to the onions.  Cook for another 5 minutes, turn the heat down low and and all of the spices.  Toast for a minute.
3. Stir in the lentils, the rest of the water and carrots.  Cook for about 40 minutes.  If lentils are looking too dry, add more water.
4. Add the arugula and stir to combine.  Taste and add salt, if needed.  Top with cilantro.