more laziness (now in dinner form)

Victor's been working through dinner a lot these days. (One day, his game will ship, and possibly I'll get to see my husband again. Oh happy day!) Usually I just make dinner and he takes leftovers to work for lunch the next day (his company generally provides them with dinner if there are many people around late enough for it).

It's not terribly fun, though, so sometimes I just have a snack-ish thing for dinner instead. Tonight it was crackers, cheese, and branston pickle. And since I'm making a renewed effort to keep track, last night I revisited the Sichuan Green Beans I made a while back. I did add more pepper, and it was good.

Wednesday: Sichuan Green Beans; brown rice
Thursday: snacks-for-dinner (cheddar, pickles, and crackers)

I have a strong suspicion that this whole "blog" thing would be more useful if I were less lazy. Oh well.

Monday: Sweet-and-Sour Lentils; whole-wheat couscous

Sometimes when I revisit an old recipe, one I used to make frequently, it's great and I wonder why I ever stopped making it. And then there are recipes that I wonder how the hell I ever thought it was worth my time to either make or eat. This one falls somewhere in between, although as I was reading it over to type up for this post*, I noticed that the header says "if you would like the dish sweeter, add a small amount of brown sugar or honey." Why, yes, I would like it sweeter. D'oh. So maybe I'll make it again, add some sweetener, and see if I can move the recipe firmly into the first camp.

Sweet-and-Sour Lentils
adapted from Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites

• 1 1/2 C brown lentils, rinsed
• 2 C apple juice
• 1" piece ginger, peeled and grated
• 2 C water
• 1 C chopped onions
• 3 garlic cloves, grated or minced
  
• 1 C diced carrots
• 2 tsp vegetable oil
• 1 medium yellow bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 1 small zucchini, diced
• 1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes
• 1/2 can crushed pineapple
• 1/8 C brown sugar
  
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp rice vinegar
• chopped scallions (garnish)

Combine lentils, juice, ginger, and water in a large pot. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer (uncovered) 30-40 minutes. Keep an eye on them near the end, and add some of the excess pineapple juice if they seem to be getting too dry.

Meanwhile, saute onions, garlic, and carrots in oil over medium-high heat until onions begin to soften (~5 minutes). Add pepper, squash, tomatoes, pineapple, and brown sugar. Cover and cook on low for another 10 minutes until just tender. Stir in soy sauce and vinegar. Garnish with scallions and serve.

serves 4-6

*I have a small, highly curmudgeonly pet-peeve about the word "blog." Seasonal Menus is my blog, the individual entries are "posts" or "blog posts," not "blogs." I know it's standard usage at this point, but I feel strongly on this issue. At least, strongly enough that I had to get it off my chest here, in this tiny footnote.