Lentil Stew with Winter Vegetables

A very hearty stew. It would have been good to find yellow beets as the red ones colored everything else. I perhaps overcooked the beets, squash and turnips as I was concerned about them being too hard. I also omitted the oregano and parsley. The goat cheese was pricey ($1/oz) but worth it.

The big stew pot seemed to be about the right size for this.

Pears made a good side dish for this.

Tortellini with Soybeans and Pesto

I used frozen cheese filled-tortellini. I also used Trader Joe's pesto rather than making it from our own basil. The weather's starting to get cold and the basil has stopped growing which makes the leaves tough and wrinkly. This meal was delicious and really quick and easy to make. I did forget to add pepper. I think the details like pepper add flavor interest to the dish. For the side dish I microwaved some fresh green beens and put some butter on them.

Spaghetti with Garlic and Parsley

I made the clammy version. At the end, I thought there was too much liquid - this seems to happen a lot. Maybe if I had served it in a bowl. The flavor is very good - forgot the parmesan cheese, but I didn't miss it. We had it with sour dough bread.

Easy Chicken Adobo

Page 360. Pretty easy. Very much like the recipe we have been using. I didn't drain the drippings, because there was only about a tablespoon in the pan anyway. Served over brown rice and Pleasant Salad (sans onion) with cut-up ringo and banana for dessert.

Black Bean Chili

Fast and easy, although I think it pays to take the time to cook the onions until they start to caramelize. The chipotle chilis really make the difference. I used twice the amount of crushed tomatoes because they didn't have a smaller size. It still worked out well. Since there was more crushed tomato, I might not have needed to add a full half cup of water, as I think it was a little soupy. We had it over baked potatoes one night and the left-overs over brown rice.