Daal Meets Chili Stew

This is a super quick and easy dish to make that requires very little attention. You can add spinach and other veggies to it beside the leeks, as well.

3-4 cups of dried red lentils

1 small onion, diced

1 cup (or one whole bunch) of leeks, chopped

1 can of crushed tomatoes

1 can white beans

2 cans kidney beans

2 heaping tbsps low salt vegetable bullion

2 tbsps garlic powder

2 heaping tbsps chipotle chili powder

2 heaping tbsps cumin

1/4 cup of red pepper flakes

3 tbsps lemon juice

2 tbsps olive oil

2-4 cups water

1. Rinse the red lentils and soak them for approximately three hours. Rinse and drain.

2. In a large pot, heat 2 tbsps olive oil on medium-high heat. Begin to sautée the diced onion and chopped leeks. Once they have softened up a bit, add 1 1/2 tbsps lemon juice to the pot and finish sautéeing until tender.

3. In a measuring cup, mix two cups of hot tap water with the vegetable bullion and 1 heaping tablespoon each of the garlic powder, cumin, and chipotle chili powder. Reserve the other 1 heaping tablespoon of each to add later.

4. Turn the heat down to medium-low, and add the lentils and water-spice mixture to the pot. Allow to simmer until the lentils begin to thicken and cook a bit. Add the tomatoes and continue to simmer.

*** You can totally stop here and eat the lentils like this with rice... super yummy! ***

5. Once the lentils are soft, add the three cans of beans and the remaining amount of spices. Add more or no water depending on how much water the lentils soak up. I added about another cup with the rest of the spices.

This dish is great when served with rice cooked with a little bit of tumeric. The cumin and red lentils give it a kind of daal feel while the chipotle, lemon juice, and kidney beans give it a chili feel. You can try adding TVP for extra texture and more of a chili feel.

Sexy Pasta Salad

1 900g bag of rotini (or any other pasta)

1 8oz bag of spinach (or frozen, thawed)

1 bunch of asparagus, blanched & sliced into 1 " pieces

1 cup of blanched peas (or frozen peas, thawed)

1 large tomato, diced

1 large avocado, diced

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tbsp olive oil

3 tbsps of fresh basil, chopped

Dressing:

1 1/2 cups pesto (if you are vegan, make sure you get a cheese free pesto)

1/4 cup milk, soymilk, olive oil, or vegannaise (I used milk)

6 tbsps lime juice

1 tsp of chipotle chili powder

1/2 tsp pepper

1 clove of fresh garlic, minced

A dash of salt

Optional (i.e. if you're feeling ritzy)

1/3 cup toasted pine nuts

1/2 cup fresh grated parmesan

1. Cook the pasta. When you are finished, rinse it in a strainer with cold water to cool it down quickly, and also to keep it from sticking.

2. While the pasta is cooking, heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large sautée pan on medium-high heat. Add the four cloves of garlic and cook for a minute. Once they are starting to brown, add the entire 8 oz. bag of spinach. Cook until just wilted. It helps if you put a lid on the pan, once you've stirred it around for a bit.

3. Once the spinach is done, transfer it into a bowl and put it in the freezer for a few minutes to cool it down quickly.

4. While your pasta is cooking, you will blanch the peas and asparagus. (You can even use the same pan that you just cooked the spinach in). Just add an inch and a half of water, put in the veggies, and put on medium heat. Cook until just bright green, so that they are cooked but still have a bit of a crunch (about 3-4 minutes). Then, drain them and rinse them with ice cold water.

5. Toss every thing in a large mixing bowl and stir together, including the chopped basil, and diced avocado and tomatoes.

6. Stir in the dressing, a little bit at a time. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Keep in mind that pesto is quite salty. If you are going to add fresh parmesan and pine nuts, add them bit by bit with the dressing.

For a super healthy option, use vegan pesto, omit the milk and go for olive oil cut with extra lemon juice and a bit of water (or apple cidar vinegar). For the pasta, use brown rice pasta, and put in 2 tbsps of flax seed into your dressing.