Sequestration Meal #514

 

I avoid the grocery store in December, more so than any other time I might feel like avoiding the store. So this means I have to get creative, and that inspires me to try all sorts of new things. In this case, I made a creamy lentil soup with turmeric and lemon (recipe from The Vegan 8) and pulled my last piece of homemade garlic naan out of my freezer.

Usually, I'd either make a lentil curry or Spanish lentil stew if I was in a lentil mood, but I had no fresh tomatoes and I had my one can of diced tomatoes earmarked for something else, and I was out of coconut milk. That basically leaves out both curries and Spanish lentil stew. But this recipe gets its creaminess from cashews, and I had everything on hand except for some fresh spinach (I substituted frozen). I cut the recipe in half, but aside from that and the substitution of frozen spinach for fresh, I made it as written.

Like all lentil recipes, the suggested cooking time was woefully inadequate; I have to boil lentils for a minimum of an hour, it seems, no matter what. And as such I kept having to add water to it because it kept evaporating. But I was patient and it paid off in this bowl of deliciousness. It went amazingly well with the naan, which I heated in my toaster oven and brushed with some margarine to freshen things up. 

So have I avoided grocery stores for the entire month of December? Pretty much. I expect to go again after Christmas, without being deprived, and having given myself a chance to uncover new discoveries. But a tiny part of me wants to go later this week, just to ensure I get one last crack at fresh cranberries. It's a dilemma, to be sure!