Nom-Able

Okay, so right now, my stomach is filled with lovely Fat Bastard Shiraz, so I’m in no mood — or ability-level — to type a long ranty entry that no one reads anyway, so I’m just going to cut right to the recipe. I found this via NPR and their “How Low Can You Go” segment about cooking a meal for under $10. A few notes, though. This meal feeds at least four adults, so reduce accordingly. Also, brown rice and naan bread go a long way toward cutting the spice and adding other flavors and textures, since it’s pretty much all just hot and bland at the end. Finally, this meal did not cost $10 to make. Maybe $10 per person but at that point, you might as well go to a fast food place, though this is at least vegan and packed full of healthy, fresh veggies and legumes, so the health thing is totally on your side. Still, if all you care about is cost, this isn’t going to keep your wallet slim. I spent $2.99 on tomatoes alone, another $1.25 on the potatoes and $1.99 on cilantro. That’s only three ingredients. The wine (which, I admit, I’m still guzzling) was $7.99, and that was at Wegman’s. The local store sells it for $10.99. Oh sure, you could use some cheap crap like Sutter Home and reduce the price there, but trust me, Fat Bastard is a fat bastard of a wine, and cooks wonderfully. Plus, there’s a cute little hippo on the bottle!

Dal, Chilean-Style

3 cups of lentils
2 cups of chopped potatoes
2 chopped carrots
3 chopped tomatoes
1 hot pepper
1 small onion chopped
2 gloves garlic chopped
16 ounces tomato sauce
1 tsp cumin
a little beer or sherry
a little red vinegar
olive oil
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
salt and pepper

1. Soak and cook lentils till soft. Drain and rinse, set aside.
2. Sautee onions, garlic, hot pepper, and cumin in olive oil. Add beer or sherry.
3. Add potatoes and carrots, cover with water, bring to boil.
4. Add tomatoes and cook till potatoes are soft.
5. Add lentils and tomato sauce.
6. Salt and pepper to taste. (I sometimes add more water or beer if it’s too thick, or vinegar if it’s too sweet.) Add more cumin or hot sauce if you like it really spicy.
7. Throw in the cilantro, take if off the heat. Serve after a few minutes.