French Lentil Stew

oh man guys, i am so miserable right now. my foot is so tender still, and swells up if i can't keep it up. i came home from work early today.

so i've just been sitting in "the dad chair" and watching tv. rose doesn't like it because it's harder for her to get in my lap. poor spoiled princess.

i've been making cheese toast with the delicious local garlic paprika jack cheese that dana and i bought at the farmer's market. i used the last of it today, and my foot was too painful to go to the farmer's market. wah, poor me. haha.
i'm going to finally post that french lentil stew recipe! it is SO GOOD. travis loves it and gobbles down the leftovers so fast. and i took some terrible pictures in my dark kitchen at night.
it's from Feeding the Whole Family by Cynthia Lair


French Lentil and Potato Stew
Prep time: 1 hour and 30 minutes. Makes 6 servings.


lots of ingredients:

1 table spoon ghee or extra virgin olive oil
1 onion; chopped
6 red potatoes; cubed (i use way more than it calls for because that's the best part)
1 parsnip; sliced (if not in season, use a carrot)
1 stalk celery; chopped
1 carrot; chopped
1 cup French lentils
4 cups water or vegetable stock
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp ground cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
1 tsp freshly grated ginger
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp tumeric
1/8 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp allspice


it seemed like way too many spices to me, but it ended up being really good. it tastes like indian food. dana compared it to korma.

look at this cute thing i got recently! it's martha stewart of course. it clips to your pan so you pan keep your spoon there! perfect! i hate having to wash my spoon rest. (which is crazy, i know)

this is ghee. it's clarified butter. this is the first time i've tried it. basically it is butter than can be heated a lot higher than regular butter without burning. but you can use olive oil instead if you don't want to buy ghee.

1. Melt ghee in a 4 quart pot in medium heat. Add onion and saute until soft. Add all spices and saute for a few more minutes.

2. Add potato, parsnip, celery, carrot, lentils, and water. Bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 50 to 60 minutes. When lentils are creamy, pour in the salt.

it's not the prettiest stew, but oh man, it is SO GOOD!!!!!!!