Coconut anyone?

After yesterday's post for a phenomenal kale salad, here's another recipe - Karen's coconut lentils. Here's the good news about lentils, you can do whatever you want with them. Feel free to throw an onion and a couple of carrots in a food processor for this recipe. Typically that's the base for our lentils regardless of the additional spices. You can use garlic, salt, cayenne pepper, berbere, sriracha, thai red curry paste; I think you get the point that in whatever you cook lentils they absorb. On a side note, red lentils cook a little faster than green or brown lentils, but the latter are slightly cheaper. 

Ingredients

• 1 lb. (2 cups) red lentils 
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tsp sea salt 
• 1-2 tsp turmeric 
• 1 (15 oz.) can light coconut milk 
• 1½ cups water 

Instructions

1. Place the lentils in a medium pot and gently rinse 2-3 times or until the water runs clear. Drain as much water out after the last rinse as possible.
2. Mince the garlic and add it to the pot along with the salt, turmeric, coconut milk, and 1.5 cups of water. Give it a gentle stir to make sure everything is mixed.
3. Bring the pot up to a boil over medium-high heat (use a lid to make this faster). Once it is boiling, remove the lid and let it boil gently for about 20 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed. When most of the liquid is absorbed, turn off the heat and let sit for about 5 minutes to continue to absorb. Taste and season with more salt if desired.

John Mark's simple recipe

It's really the same just not measured exactly. True cooks, my wife included, don't measure teaspoons, tablespoons, etc. They know it when they see it. If you want to expand your cooking knowledge, measure out a teaspoon or tablespoon then pour it in your hand. Get to know the feel of it and what the approximate size is in your hand. 

As for this recipe, I do like to add thai red curry paste. Depending on your taste, one jar might last two or three various recipes. It's an additional cost for this recipe, but turmeric might be an additional cost for your spice draw as well, if you don't use it in any other recipes. Turmeric is a great spice that adds flare to many recipes and is a great antioxidant. The bottom line is that lentils provide excellent nutrition. Plus, you can tailor them according to you tastes AND satisfy your palate. Enjoy!