mothering outside the mainstream

i am relaxing with vinny, loving that we are home, even though i wish my mom felt better. when i picked him up i got to hang out with geneva for a good hour, talking. it was really nice.

in a minute i am going to make a new recipe for dinner, then sit back down with my boy and enjoy my short work day with no supervision and no drive to plano.

dinner:

Spicy Indian Lentil Salad

1 cup lentils
1 cup brown rice
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground cinnamon
6 cardamom pods
3 star anise
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup sunflower oil
1 tsp lemon juice
8 oz broccoli florets
2 carrots, cut into matchsticks
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 red pepper, finely chopped
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp ground coriander
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen peas, thawed

Mint and yogurt dressing
1 cup plain yogurt
1 tbs lemon juice
1 tbs finely chopped fresh mint
1 tsp cumin seeds

1. Pour three cups of water with the rice, lentils, turmeric, cinnamon, cardamom, star anise and bay leaves in a pan. Stir to combine and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer gently for 50-60 minutes, or until the liquid is absorbed. Remove the whole spices and discard. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Whixk two tbs of the oil with the lemon juice and fork through the rice mixture.
2. Boil, steam or microwave the broccoli and carrots until tender. Drain and refresh in cold water.
3. Heat the remaining oil in a large pan and add the onion, garlic, and red pepper. Stir fry for 2-3 minutes, then add the garam masala and coriander, and stir fry for another 1-2 minutes. Add the vegetables and toss to coat in the spice mixture. Add to the rice mixture and fork through to combine. Cover and refrigerate.
4. To make the dressing, mix the yogurt, lemon juice, mint and cumin seeds together. Season with salt and pepper. Serve the dressing on the side.

I am kind of a slave to the big Indian grocery store in Richardson and have all of these spices, except maybe the cardamom pods, I may just have cardamom ground, but will improvise. Also, I will leave out the bay leaf cause I just don’t like it, and I will use cilantro instead of mint because I refuse to pay three bucks for mint, and I haven’t been to the Asian grocery store lately where they sell it for a buck a bunch LIKE THE WEED THAT IT IS.

will report back with the results.