Lentil nostalgia

OneMoreBite received an email a few days ago from the entertaining reporter of the Bozeman Daily Chronicle.  Not sure how she found me, but my instincts tell me that learning how to use google keywords payed off. 

She is running an article on summer entertaining and was looking for some delicious recipes to share.  I submitted an ol' standby, and struggled to quantify the ingredients as I so often throw things together. I call these recipes "fridge clean-outs."  This combination was taught to me by a dear friend who introduced me to the wonders of lentils.  To top it off, you can buy Montana grown lentils around town.  Woot woot!

None the less, this is a great summer salad.  It can introduce lentils to your bean-fearing friends, and is a light, healthy addition to those delicious (yet meaty) patties that come off the grill. 

Summer Lentil Salad
2 1/4 cups (1 lb) Timeless brand black beluga lentils (Montana grown)
1 medium red onion, diced
1 large tomato, seeded and diced (Three Hearts Farm grows amazing tomatoes)
1/2 cup chopped parsley or cilantro
8 oz. Amalthelia goat feta, crumbled.

Dressing:
2 T. dijon mustard
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Rinse lentils well and drain. Place lentils in pot and cover with at least 3 inches of water.  Bring to a boil, and reduce to a simmer.  Check lentils after 15 minutes, and cook until just tender.  Do not overcook. Rinse lentils under cold water to stop the cooking process and drain well.

While lentils are simmering, place ingredients for the dressing in a small glass jar and shake to combine.     Combine cooked lentils with the remaining ingredients. Tastes best when cooled in the fridge for at least 1 hour.

Smitten with Rhubarb

Lots and lots of things happened in my kitchen last weekend.  It all started with finally catching up with one of my favorite blogs.  I met (virtually) the blogs author through an email reference for a nanny gig in Costa Rica. I took the job, and a year later moved to her hometown.  During that year abroad, I also met her father, but never her!  Someday we'll meet in non-digital terms, I just know it. 

So she has mentioned the food blog Smitten Kitchen a few times.  I had heard of it before, but like I really need another food blog to obsesses over?  Apparently so.    Late Friday afternoon, I decided that picking wild rhubarb from my friend's yard would count as working out.  3 hours of chopping and washing later, I had a severe case of knife hand.

I started out with the rhubarb snaking cake late Friday night.  It turned out to be so well written you can even make it after a few Friday night beers with friends.  I ate 25% of the cake before deciding to give the rest away... wouldn't want to ruin that Friday afternoon workout.  The rhubarb harvest also produced 5 jars of chutney, 17 pounds of frozen chunks, and 4 cups of stewed fruit with cherries.  So yum over ice cream.

Yesterday I went to town with the broccoli fritters and pizza crust.  I CANT STOP. 
So E.B... thanks.  Let your Dad know that my rhubarb chutney would go great with some Montana game.

Three Hearts Goodness!

Our first CSA started last Tuesday.  For those of you new to this jargon, CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture.  Basically, you invest in a local farmer and in exchange receive a bounty of fresh product every week.  You can find one in your area here.  Not only do you enjoy the tasty and fresh produce, participating in a CSA keeps money in your community and support farmers who grow FOOD (not commodities or mono-crops) without the use of chemicals.  We chose Three Hearts Farm because their tomatoes are the best in the valley, and because I can pick it up each week at the Bogert Farmer's Market.

Although a neighborhood bunny has already been enjoying our chard, we hope for another bountiful harvest from our own garden this year. So, in order to not overload our fridge with greens, we decided to split our CSA with friends.

This week's basket included a pound of arugula and braising greens, mustard greens, radishes, kale, and Chinese cabbage.  Farmer Dylan suggesting using the cabbage leaves as wraps.  Combining Wednesday night culinary forces, Suzanne and I assembled a hodgepodge of baked tofu, grilled teryaki chicken, grated carrots, avocado, buckwheat noodles, sprouts, cucumber and sauces.  Yum yum, and oh so fresh.  And, like Suzanne commented, CSA's open up your food eyes to new and exciting possibilities.

Girls, girls, GIRLS.

School is over, and finally I've gotten back into my favorite summer happenings.  Gardening, deep cleaning, farmers marketing, and girl time have all crept back into my life... horray!

Last Sunday I had a lovely brunch with my lovely friend Susie.  After, we spend the rainy afternoon digesting the giant plates of lamb and prosciutto omelets and watching episodes of Portlandia (fun but creepy). If you look at her fabulous website, you can see the posh BonTon Loft where she lives.  Such a perfect spot for girl time.

 Monday evening was spent sipping basil-muddled vodka cocktails on the green lawn of my friend Shelbadawn.  Fresh spring rolls followed, along with our usual idealistic plans of building compost bins and planting fruit trees.  

Oh, and I also spent a killer weekend post-Thailand "cleanse" with my lady Jonna in San Fran.  So much good produce there I could have exploded.  Also ate some amazing Lavender Shortbread, summer project!

So, girl reference number 3, no food involved.  Have you seen or heard of this new HBO show GIRLS?  Some say its the new, younger version of "Sex and the City"... and I say it's the more realistic and clever version without the heavy emphasis on heels and blow jobs.  I've really been enjoying its realistic portrayal of life in your late 20's.  They've tackled real issues such as HPV, awkward texting, and real friendship drama.  It's also written and directed by the shows star, Lena Dunham.    I give it 3 spatulas up.