snow + ethiopian food

SNOW!!!!!!!!

not quite the snowpocalypse that was predicted, but in my little corner of seattle we got a good 3-4 inches.  enough to make me take one look outside at 6am and say NO THANK YOU to driving in it.  since nothing was horrendously pressing, i decided not to fool with the buses and call it a snow day.  i even prepared for the mess by setting up my VPN so i could work from home.  but it failed.

SO, determined to make the most of my day, i put on my layers, threw some laundry in, and set out on a short and slow run (2 miles).  it was nice to be out in the peaceful morning light and create footprints in the fresh snow. 

i also used the day to make a recipe i bookmarked a long time ago.  i'm going to be honest, it's not my most triumphant creation.  but the level of success will not get in the way of me presenting to you (complete with ghetto photos... don't judge):

 

mesir w'et (ethiopian red lentils)

adapted from this recipe, which i found a while ago looking for more lentil recipes

1 cup dried red lentils, soaked 1 hour (not totally necessary)
couple glugs olive oil  

1 onion, chopped

handful baby carrots, just cause i needed to use them

1-3 cloves garlic, minced
1.5 in piece fresh ginger, grated   

1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste

1 tablespoon paprika

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon Garam Masala

1 tablespoon berbere*

3 cups vegetable broth

salt to taste

jasmine rice (as much as i love my whole grains, white rice is a huge weakness of mine in recipes like this, but use what you like!)

cilantro

crushed peanuts

*berbere was a new one on me!  i found a couple of recipes for this spice blend and instead of following it exactly... i... well i basically just dumped a few dashes of each spice in approximately similar ratios to the ones listed (except the crazy proportion of cayenne!  i mean, i love the stuff, but...)  it ended up being about a tablespoon, so i went with it.

saute small-diced onion in olive oil until soft.  add carrot, garlic, cook a few more minutes.  

add tomato paste, ginger, and spices and incorporate, stirring for a minute or so.  then add the broth and bring to a boil and add the lentils. 

cook for about 30 minutes or until the lentils are soft.  meanwhile, start your rice on a different burner or in your trusty rice cooker. 

serve over rice and garnish with crushed peanuts and cilantro. 

it was just ever so slightly lacking a robustness that i was hoping for.  maybe my taste buds are weakening?  i added a few more dashes of each of the spices i used.  this was a good starting point for future recipes.

other highlights of the day include taking care of some post-horsfall details, lots of words with friends, a yoga class in which i was one of two students present, and playing two-person settlers with seth.  it works!

until next time,

maggie