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I've discovered a simple and very yummy new spring vegetable dish. Take six brussels sprouts and six spears of fresh asparagus. Quarter the sprouts and cut the asparagus into 1" pieces (make sure to cut off the woody bottom parts). Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, add the vegetables, sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt, and sautee until the asparagus is bright green and the sprouts have begun to brown in spots. (This serves one person.) I had it with a salmon filet crusted in panko bread crumbs, black sesame seeds and wasabi powder, all the above served over some Japonica rice and it was mmmm-mmmm good!
Monday was kind of chilly and I wanted something warm & hearty, plus Kham had been asking to try lentils after seeing the Alton Brown show featuring them, so I tried a new dish. I sent the leftovers with Kham to a get-together and apparently it went over like gangbusters and I've been asked for the recipe, so I thought it would be easiest to post it here so they can grab it.
Vegetable Lentils with Sausage
3 slices bacon, diced
1/2 pound cooked sausage or ham, cut up in large pieces*
1/2 cup diced onion
1/4 cup diced fennel bulb (sometimes seen in stores marked 'anise' instead of 'fennel')
1/4 cup diced carrots
1 medium red potato, diced
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 bay leaf
8 ounces lentils (any variety, though I usually use green)
2-3 sprigs fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/8 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes and their juices
3 cups chicken stock **
French bread, for serving
Place the bacon in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook the bacon until crispy, about 7 to 8 minutes. Remove the bacon from the pan with a slotted spoon, drain, and reserve.
Add the vegetables to the saucepan and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and bay leaf and saute until fragrant. Add the lentils and stir to coat in the fat. Add the sausage, thyme, tomatoes, and chicken stock, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a gentle simmer and cook for an hour to an hour and a half, or until the lentils are tender and have soaked up most of the liquid. Remove and discard the bay leaf and thyme sprigs. Sprinkle with the reserved bacon, and serve with a good, crusty French or Italian bread.
*I used Boulder Sausage's 'German' variety but your favorite type will work fine.
** You may want to use low-sodium stock if your sausage is fairly salty, or your dish may come out excessively salty.
This could be made completely vegetarian by omitting the bacon and using olive oil for the fat, using a vegetable stock, and using a good vegetarian sausage. Or you could leave out the sausage altogether if you prefer.
Finally, a couple of Springy shots from my indefatigable cell-phone camera:
(Yes, this is the same building I posted a picture of last week with snow on the ground. Springtime in the Rockies, take two.)
A male Cassin's Finch at the feeder in the back yard. Photo taken through two layers of very dirty kitchen window, so it's not the best, but I didn't want to scare him off by opening the back door for a better shot.
Monday was kind of chilly and I wanted something warm & hearty, plus Kham had been asking to try lentils after seeing the Alton Brown show featuring them, so I tried a new dish. I sent the leftovers with Kham to a get-together and apparently it went over like gangbusters and I've been asked for the recipe, so I thought it would be easiest to post it here so they can grab it.
Vegetable Lentils with Sausage
3 slices bacon, diced
1/2 pound cooked sausage or ham, cut up in large pieces*
1/2 cup diced onion
1/4 cup diced fennel bulb (sometimes seen in stores marked 'anise' instead of 'fennel')
1/4 cup diced carrots
1 medium red potato, diced
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 bay leaf
8 ounces lentils (any variety, though I usually use green)
2-3 sprigs fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/8 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes and their juices
3 cups chicken stock **
French bread, for serving
Place the bacon in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook the bacon until crispy, about 7 to 8 minutes. Remove the bacon from the pan with a slotted spoon, drain, and reserve.
Add the vegetables to the saucepan and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and bay leaf and saute until fragrant. Add the lentils and stir to coat in the fat. Add the sausage, thyme, tomatoes, and chicken stock, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a gentle simmer and cook for an hour to an hour and a half, or until the lentils are tender and have soaked up most of the liquid. Remove and discard the bay leaf and thyme sprigs. Sprinkle with the reserved bacon, and serve with a good, crusty French or Italian bread.
*I used Boulder Sausage's 'German' variety but your favorite type will work fine.
** You may want to use low-sodium stock if your sausage is fairly salty, or your dish may come out excessively salty.
This could be made completely vegetarian by omitting the bacon and using olive oil for the fat, using a vegetable stock, and using a good vegetarian sausage. Or you could leave out the sausage altogether if you prefer.
Finally, a couple of Springy shots from my indefatigable cell-phone camera:
(Yes, this is the same building I posted a picture of last week with snow on the ground. Springtime in the Rockies, take two.)
A male Cassin's Finch at the feeder in the back yard. Photo taken through two layers of very dirty kitchen window, so it's not the best, but I didn't want to scare him off by opening the back door for a better shot.