Curried lentil yumminess

As we hunkered down from Snowmageddon 2015, that meant plenty of time to cook!  And even Whole Foods was open 10am-6pm!

I tried the udon noodle soup recipe again for lunch - and this time I didn't overcook the vegetables.  Turns out, they do best when you throw them in about 2 minutes before you're done.

We also recreated the fabulous cauliflower riced pilaf from the other night, which was just as glorious.  That dish is going to have to make it's way to the Thanksgiving table this year.

And then, I found a new favorite recipe!  The other day, I wanted to make something with lentils and cashews because, well, Cecyl loves cashews.  All the recipes were for curried lentils with cashews, so I picked one and then improvised.  I'm not a fan of jalapenos, so I omitted those.  I substituted coconut oil for olive oil (cuz who doesn't love coconut oil, and it goes great with curry), and canned tomatoes for regular tomatoes (let's face it, they're out of season).  Instead of zucchini, I added sweet potatoes and collard greens.  And I added extra spices plus some garam masala.  OMG, there are no words.  I may have gone back for thirds.  Okay, maybe I had fourths.  It was so yummy. 

I've also gotten in the habit of making my own vegetable stock, which is very easy when you just take all the peels from your onions/carrots/garlic/etc while you're cooking and toss them straight into a pot of boiling water on the back burner, and then strain into a mason jar when you're done and throw it in the refrigerator.  So okay, it always tastes a bit like whatever the last vegetable dish was that you were cooking, but it's perfect to have on hand for the next cooking adventure and I prefer it over store-bought vegetable stock.