Tuesday, July 23, 2013
We woke this morning to a roiling bay. The white caps were are far as the eye could see. Rain was falling and the fog drifted in and then out and in again. Obviously this was the perfect day to stay home indoors and snuggle up with a good book.
I had started Little Altars Everywhere by Rebecca Wells last night. After reading the paper and answering a few emails, I returned to the book. We spent most of the day like this until I decided it was time to clean more blueberries and make more jam. After making jam, we planned to head to the grocery to buy fresh deep sea scallops for dinner. Just as the final jam jar popped, the rain came pouring down. The decision was made to cancel the trip to town and survey the pantry.
After discussing a variety of unusual options for dinner we settled on Pasta and Lentils with Spinach. If you have never made Lentils, in favor of Progresso Lentil Soup from a can, you are missing a lovely dinner or side dish.
Sort the lentils looking for small stones or other debris. Place in a colander and rinse with cold water. Set aside. Mince, garlic, onion, celery, and carrots and saute in a pan or pot until soft. Meanwhile, put a large pot of salted water on the stove to boil. When the vegetables are tender, add the lentils and cover with water. Season to taste, bring to a bowl then lower the heat and simmer until the lentils are tender, about 20 minutes. Chop up some fresh spinach and add to the lentils. Stir in and let the spinach cook until wilted.
When the salted water is boiling add pasta. We favor Ditalini, but any type, on hand will do. Cook the pasta al dente, drain and toss in a bowl or the pot with olive oil. Spoon the pasta into a dinner bowl, top with the lentils and serve with grated Italian cheese. This dish is full of vegetables and high in protein. Super easy and rather quick. Perfect for a damp, rainy day. YUM!!
After dinner, clean up, take the dogs out in spite of the rain then put your feet up and get back to that good book. In spite of the weather it was a great day, after all!
Hey your pasta and lentils is one of my favorites!!!! I can't wait to get my hands on some of your jam... I'm thinking about trying my hand at jam making myself this summer - I will have to consult with you before I do. I bought bread flour at the store last weekend and have big plans to make home made pretzels and spicy honey mustard sauce over the next day or so... Ill keep you posted! I love you!!! xx
ReplyDeleteHome made pretzels with a spicy honey mustard sauce sounds like a wonderful idea. I have never tried to make pretzels so you will have to share your secrets with me. Yes, I made the lentils and that made me think of you. Yesterday Sobey's had buy a bag of cherries, get a second bag free. I am now in the process of preparing one bag for cherry jam. I have never made it before. Fingers crossed that it turns out well. I gave a jar of blueberry jam to the plumber today and he plumbed the house for a washer! Hope to buy the washer today. No more trips to the laundry in town if all goes according to plan . . .
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