Dipping my Toe in the Vegan Stew

Dance is such a large part of my life. It encompasses my workouts, my wardrobe, my friends, my craft and even my cooking. The great part about kitchen crafting is that every budding chef cooks to a beat of their own - and me, well, quite literally. A new recipe always has its own soundtrack, and with these entries I hope to combine the music and the food to really give you the full experience of dancing with a spatula wand.

Cooking Adventure: Red Lentil Artichoke Stew
Source: The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau
The Bellydance Soundtrack: Junktion by Beats Antique
Prep Time: 5-7 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes

I really love meat and other animal products too much to ever go vegan, but that doesn't mean I won't try their recipes. I eat so much bread anyway, that it's time for me to finally abide by that age old motherly saying: Eat your vegetables.

The hubby was out at roller derby practice and wouldn't get back until 8:30PM, so I started around 8PM thinking that by the time I got done prepping I'd be too tired to actually combine the ingredients. Surprisingly enough though, the biggest things to do were to chop two onions and mince garlic. Prep time was made even better by the can opener and a can of chopped tomatoes and artichoke heart quarters. It was a throw-it-in-the-pot and simmer kind of recipe - my favorite kind for late night cooking.

Tastewise, it came out pretty much how you'd expect lentils, tomatoes, artichokes and cumin to taste. Pretty good for a quick meal. And plenty leftovers for work lunches.

For Next Time: I'd probably serve it over basmati rice. It just needs to go with something else. Ooh. Perhaps served with grapes and mangoes?