Good morning and Happy Thanksgiving weekend to my Canadian readers. :)
The warm beautiful weather continues!
Yesterday was a madhouse up in here.
I was busy with work when I found out that I advanced to Round #4 of Project Food Blog. Thank you so much for your votes!!! I realized that yesterday was my only chance to bake up my recipe submission because we are going away for Thanksgiving this weekend. The submission is due Sunday! Cue major panic. ;)
Let me just say that I didn’t get to bed until after midnight and my kitchen now weeps!
Last night, I needed a quick dinner and I also made enough of dinner so there would be leftovers to bring to my in-laws this weekend. Whenever I go away I always try my best to bring one vegan dish along.
I started by cooking a bunch of lentils on the stovetop and then I grabbed these CSA veggies from the fridge:
Have you ever seen a cuter green pepper?
I wanted to pickle it so I could stare at it forever, but ultimately I ended up chopping it up. ;)
I also threw in some chopped celery when I noticed that we had some to use up.
Dressings don’t get any easier…
After draining and rinsing lentils, add into bowl with veggies…
Now make your dressing!
Black Pepper Balsamic Vinaigrette
Spicy Herbamare:
and oil + minced garlic. I used Sunflower oil and 1 clove of minced garlic.
Switch into a bigger bowl when you start spilling things everywhere… ;)
Taste!
Mmmm.
and adjust seasonings as needed.
Delicious, nutritious, and ready in a snap. :)
The perfect high-protein take-along side dish to supplement lunch or dinner.
Check out, what I picked up this week…
I decided I wasn’t going to ever have coffee if I had to drag out and clean our huge coffee maker each day (the last thing my kitchen needs is another appliance in use!), so after reading all your rave reviews, I took the plunge and got a French Press.
I also think I want to grind my own coffee beans fresh. Does anyone recommend a good coffee grinder?
I’m off to squeeze in a workout, shower, pack, and then we are off to the in-laws! Have a great day.
{ 80 comments… read them below or add one }
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend with family! And I can’t wait to see your official entry. :)
That salad looks great! I was thinking about trying Puy lentils next week as one of my new things on Tuesday… do you use regular green lentils for this? Hopefully this weekend is a little less crazy for you. Congrats on round 4 of PFB2010!! I can’t wait to see what your next entry is. Have a great time with the inlaws! :)
This looks delicious! Have a great Thanksgiving!
Yumm! Easy to follow and definitely easy to eat – thanks for the recipe.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family, and congratulations on making it to round 4!!! It’s been a pleasure following you so far :D
My husband is a coffee freak just like me. He had to buy a french press for work because they do not serve coffee at his work. He loves it. We also have a coffee grinder at home or whole beans and I love it! It is easy to clean and use!
I really love lentils. That salad sounds delish! Have a fun day Ange!
That salad looks yummy! Congrats on moving to Round 4!
I love my french press but we use a cheap grinder! I still think it is better to grind fresh though daily! The salad looks wonderful, have a lovely weekend!
We just went through a big batch of lentils too. I made them plain as well, and the first round they got used in a pasta sauce, and in round two they got used in a lentil soup. They are such a great protein source.
Hi Angela, please update us on your french press coffee. My husband got me a french press last Christmas, and we have never been able to perfect the recipe. I’ve used Kath’s recipe for a while, but mine still does not come out right. Any ideas you could post would be great!
Happy Thanksgiving to you to!
Have a great weekend with your family.
That looks delicious Angela! And so easy to make too.
For griding coffee, I use my Magic Bullet. I have no other recommendation!
Happy Thanksgiving :)
Have a good weekend – we have a plain old brAun grinder, I think from the bay or sears, the cheapest one there, I’ve had it for years! hope that helps..
Yay for round 4! Can’t wait to see the submission!
So, for french press coffee, it’s sort of hard to grind the beans to the right level. I do it in a regular grinder, it’s a Krups, my favorite, very simple to use. But if it’s for French Press you should just pulse, don’t hold the button down steadily, till the beans are ground but coarsely, smaller than chunks and slightly bigger than powder. Yum! My very favorite coffee.
And if you heat your “milk” you’ll get a cafe au lait effect and you can sit around and remember your time in Paris!
I have a little Krups Fast Touch Coffee Grinder that works really well! Congrats on advancing in Project Food Blog and can’t wait to see your recipe for entry #4!
Enjoy your French Press! FYI- In my opinion, it tends to make stronger coffee than a coffee maker. That can be a plus or a minus. :-)
What a lovely looking salad!
Happy Thanksgiving Weekend!!
Mm I love lentils! Great salad.
Also, fresh ground coffee beans and a french press is definitely the way to go! Welcome back to the coffee world :-)
Happy Thanksgiving!
Your lentil salad looks wonderful. As far as grinders, i have one that is inside of my coffee machine, but it is a Burr grinder, and that is what you want.
My husband and I just bought a new French Press too and we are loving it! Hope yours comes in handy for you.
Thanks for the lentil salad recipe… I have some lentils to use up in my pantry and think I’ll try this out!
Mmm! love lentils!
Looks so yummy!
For coffee bean grinder, I use my dry container that I got with my Vita-Mix, works great but probably not to great if you are just going to grind enough for one day…..I usually do more and then put the ground beans in a container in the freezer!
Congratulations on your advancement.
This is my coffee grinder that I use every morning. Love it!
http://www.amazon.com/Krups-203-42-Touch-Coffee-Grinder/dp/B00004SPEU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1286634519&sr=8-1
Congrats for advancing!
Happy Thanksgivings and congrats on making it to round 4! The salad looks delish as do all your recipes! Do you ever make anything that dosn’t taste and look good?
Congratulations on getting to round 4! And happy thanksgiving :)
This bell pepper is the cutest thing ever!
I only make coffee in a french press (I think it tastes much better).
Woot! Congrats on your Bodum! I reccomend a bodum grinder – they look nice on the countertop and I’d say they compliment the press nicely ;) I got mine for about $27 at the Green Beanery in Toronto, but they do ship as well. (That store is a coffee lover’s dream, I tells ya!)
izzyy
xox
I just bought a bag of lentils and have no idea how to use them. Thank you for the recipe!
Love the ease of that salad. Enjoy the weekend.
This salad looks awesome! I am currently transitioning to a vegetarian diet and looking to incorporate more beans and legumes. I have some lentils in my pantry that are in need of a recipe and this looks like the one :) Simple but delicious, love it!
I understand the tradition and meaning of the American Thanksgiving. So I’m a little confused as to the Canadian one! Have a great Thanksgiving weekend as I’m off to Blackle and learn!
It’s great to get a Burr grinder, this one is really nice (we have this one) because you can control the degree of grinding of the beans (from very fine to coarse). Here’s a link:
http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-DBM-8-Supreme-Automatic-CCM-16PC1/dp/B00018RRRK
It’s not as big as the website makes it appear!
I second this! My uncle is a coffee SNOB and won’t drink any coffee that’s not ground with a Burr!
we got a great coffee grinder at cosco a while back…i think it was krupps? anyway, french press coffee will rock your world…and it works great for loose leaf tea too!
Looks yummy!! Congrats on getting to the next round… I love reading these submissions!
As for a coffee grinder, honestly… a magic bullet works, or at Superstore (loblaws) they sell a $10 one that works great!!
perfect! Have a lovley Thanksgiving!
Happy Thanksgiving- have a wonderful time at your in-laws!
I have that exact French press, and I LOVE it. The good news is I can stick in the dish washer and it comes out looking like new every time.
Happy Thanksgiving! :-)
ps. love the French Press!
Great lentil salad! My favorite meals usually consist of some grain or bean with veggies and dressing. Sometimes I then have to salad over greens. Very cute green pepper too!