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I’m so pleased with how this blog is working out as far as the sticking to it thing is going. Plus, instead of watching bad television while I eat, I’m writing a tasty new post. Hoorah!

Tomorrow I am leaving for Toronto for a few days to see the fabulous AB and of course the darling CW. Absolutely no work will be done except while I’m on the plane so I have to read as much as possible today. What’s on the agenda you didn’t ask? “Beyond Mothering Earth: Ecological Citizenship and the Politics of Care” by Sherilyn MacGregor, a Canadian ecofeminist who I both love and hate. Love because she’s a great writer, is a big fan of the whole environment/feminist thing, and has great ideas. Hate because I thought I had a nice thesis topic until I read her book and realized she had thought of it first. Bitch. But I’m reading the book again because I want to see if I can find any gaps on which to feast. We shall see…

In light of the fact that I have heaps of reading to do today, I needed something hearty to get me through. Enter the good ol’ standby stew above:

‘Ezmy’s Dependable Red Lentil Stew’

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 inch of fresh ginger, grated (or, if you’re me, chopped up itty bitty like)
2 cups of cauliflower (if you can, include some of the stems too. In a stew, you won’t notice how tough they are and it means less waste)
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp tumeric
1/4 tsp dry chili peppers (I like my kick!)
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1-2 bay leaves
1 small tin diced tomatoes OR two or three whole tomatoes (tomatoes were effing expensive today so tinned it was)
1 cup dried red lentils
2 1/2 cups water (If you have white wine on hand, go with 2 cups water and 1/2 cup wine – so very good but as Healthy Ezmy is off the booze, she only gets water…boo)
optional: if you happen to have any leeks lying around the house, toss one of them in too. I did today and may I just say YUMMY!

In a big soup pot, saute the onions in oil until translucent. Add garlic, ginger, and spices (and that darling leek if you have it) and stir it up. Add cauliflower, lentils, water (and if you’re lucky, wine), bay leaves, and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Turn heat down and let the stew simmer for about 15 minutes or until lentils looked cooked. You can add a smidge of fresh or dried coriander at this point if you like…I’m a fan but so many people don’t like poor little coriander. This recipe makes two giant servings and four normal person servings.

This stew cries out for baguette but if you aren’t doing the bread thing, pile a cup or two on top of brown rice. Very filling, very tasty! Also good: potatoes both sweet and white. Use in place of cauliflower too if you feel that it’s just not a cauliflower kind of day. Today, I went with baguette from Herb and Spice (best shop ever) and some chopped up cucumber because fiber is our friend.