From France to Thailand... In My Kitchen Anyway

So I was at Whole Paycheck stocking my barren fridge when I wandered into the bulk food section. Its one of the rare times I venture from the perimeter into the center of the store. Now, one of my favorite dishes from my trip to France are what D calls “magic lentils.” And they are. Provencal style, done with sausage, butter, and other deliciousness. Unlike most Indian lentils, French lentils are not split and so trying to replicate the dish with the typical split red or green lentils would be disastrous. But, lo and behold, I found black French lentils. And so I picked them up with no plan. I was contemplating doing a turkey sausage version, but I didn’t pick up any turkey sausage.

Fast forward a couple hours later. I had also picked up a whole chicken to roast. I love doing that on Sundays, eating some still warm from the oven for dinner and then picking the carcass clean to use on salads, in sandwiches, in quesadillas, or other culinary creations later in the week. I also make my own chicken stock to freeze for later use. I had already assembled most of my food for work, but needed something filling but not bread-like. I looked at the lentils. I looked at the roast chicken drippings. And a plan formed for Savory Black French Lentils. The calorie count plus recipe analyzer does not recognize chicken drippings as an ingredient. Without the chicken drippings, this would a be super healthy two servings at 192 calories per serving, 2.1g fat (.5 saturated), 1mg cholesterol, 8mg sodium, 14.7g dietary fiber, 1g sugars, 12.7g protein, 3% vitamin A, 5% vitamin C, 4% calcium, and 23% iron. We all know that the drippings add fat and cholesterol. Assume about 50 calories per serving or more extra.


[Picture is of lentils about to simmer -- finished product was not as uh, pretty]

I sautéed 1 section of a shallot, thinly sliced, in ½ tsp olive oil and ½ tsp butter. Then I threw in the roast chicken drippings (fat skimmed off the top of course and you could definately sub chicken stock) and about a cup of water and let it come to a boil. Then about ½ cup of black French lentils, a bay leaf and ½ tsp thyme, a pinch of salt and some ground pepper, throw the cover on, reduce the heat, and let it simmer 20 minutes.

No, this is not the same as magic lentils, but the chicken drippings add a wonderfully savory quality to the lentils.

And now for something completely different.

I accidentally bought some soft tofu a couple weeks ago. Its been sitting in my fridge doing nothing forever. Sure, the hermetically packaged stuff stays good forever, but just seeing it my fridge made me feel guilty. Stupid food guilt. Don't buy things you don't want to eat then feel guilty for wasting it! I always buy extra firm if I buy tofu at all. I had no idea what to do with it, but the frugal part of me was challenged into making this into something delicious. I had a vague recollection from my vegetarian days of a Thai Tofu Dip that could be served up with sliced carrots or other veggies. This recipe was sheer improvisation. This pure protein-packed heaven makes two generous servings (perfect for a mid-afternoon snack at work). It comes in rated A for nutrition, and assuming you eat it with 1 cup of sliced red peppers, it is 196 calories per serving, 11.5g fat (1.8g saturated), 0 cholesterol, 708mg sodium, 3.7g dietary fiber, 4g sugars, 13.7g protein, 80% vitamin A, 108% vitamin C, 31% calcium, and 19% iron.


I took one package of soft tofu and let it sit in a bowl so some of the water could drain out, then squeezed it in double layered paper towel to get more water out. Oops, I lost about a quarter of it in the process. So really, this was ¾ package of soft tofu, drained. Then I whipped it (by hand with a fork – although a food processor would do a fine job) as smooth as I could. I was worried at first that the lumps would just stay lumpy.

But no worries. As I added ingredients, the whole thing smoothed out and got even a little fluffy. 1 tbsp almond butter (peanut butter would be the natural choice, but I didn’t have any left), 1/4 cup finely chopped green onion, 1 1/2 tbsp tamari soy sauce, 1/2 tsp sesame oil, a squeeze of lime, 1/4 cup chopped cilantro (I used the cilantro as garnish, but it would be delicious in the spread, too), ground pepper, 1/4 cup grated carrot, crushed red pepper to taste, 2 cloves of garlic finely minced, and 1 tbsp fresh ginger finely minced. Beat it lots.

I served this up with some mini-sweet peppers and sliced carrots and it was awesome. I actually felt the sliced carrots matched the flavors better because it didn't overpower the dip's flavor. I could barely tell it was tofu and the dip was incredibly creamy. This would also be awesome with sliced cucumber or those japanese rice crackers.