the lowly lentil

{Nicholetta's curried lentil and quinoa salad}

As I have mentioned before (here and here) I try to feed my family heathy meals. I feel like I need evidence to support this claim given the volume of refined sugar I have displayed on this little blog. The beginning of the year really is birthday mania in the Pond/Harris clan and despite the fact that my own special day is less than a week away I feel more like cleansing than indulging.

Enter the lowly lentil.

My friend recently connected me with another local blogger Nicholetta at Pepper and Paint. After seeing her site I knew I wanted to try one of her recipes. She is an exceptional photographer so if are interested in step by step instructions accompanied by gorgeous images of how to make the dish above head over to her website. The recipe is her own by the way, as in not from a cookbook. Pretty impressive.

True to form I made a few *slight* errors in the preparation of this dish; I forgot to pick up a red pepper so I grabbed a cuc (good for flavour, not so good for adding colour) and I cut back on the olive oil (not because I wanted to make the dish lighter but because I ran out). Despite my missteps the dish was really yummy. Even Jeffrey liked it (though he did comment it tasted healthy). The only thing I would say is that if you make the dish for a crowd that doesn't like a little spice, maybe cut back in that department.

Violet has a love/hate relationship with spicy food. She normally cries her way through it with a big glass of milk. Before you call CPS she does this of her own accord. She loves the flavour of curries and the like, but the heat makes her weepy. What can I say, she is a piece of work that girl.

In other Violet related news (which is not even tangentially related to the rest of this post), as I pulled her out of the tub tonight she made a couple funny noises and busted a couple really hilarious dance moves.

"What are you doing silly girl" I asked.

She stared me straight in the eye and then burst into song, "Baby I was born this way."

Lady Gaga, from a three year old. Now you can call CPS.

xo

Em

tonight's recipe can be found here: http://www.pepperandpaint.com/-pepper-paint/2012/2/3/curried-lentil-quinoa-salad-with-toasted-pumpkin-seeds-dried.html