Rich Man's Stew

The other day, we rode our bikes over to the big Salvation Army, where I found a copy of Marilu Henner's Healthy Life Kitchen for $2. Reading Marilu's Total Health Makeover in 2002 was what lead us to give up red meat (and our first attempt at cutting out dairy). While she's not vegan, she's a big proponent of vegan cooking and eating, and I guess you could say that she was kind of a catalyst for our veganism. Anyway, this book is full of recipes that include eggs and fish, but I decided that there were enough vegan recipes to make it a worthwhile purchase. The first dish that I made from it is totally inappropriate for our current weather, but it sounded so good that I had to give it a try. It's not very photogenic, but it is extremely easy and unbelievably delicious. Mas had three bowls before forcing himself to stop. Here's a link to the recipe. The fresh tomatoes taste amazing, so I would highly recommend using fresh instead of canned, if possible. I had no basil or green peppers, but it didn't feel like it was missing anything to either of us. Other than that, I followed the recipe exactly--and my lentils ended up being pretty overcooked. Next time, I think that I'll cut the cooking time in half.

The link only seems to work part of the time, so here's a copy and paste without any of my changes.

Rich Man's Stew

1 tbsp olive oil
1 small red onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups sliced portabello mushrooms
1 small green pepper, chopped
6 cups vegetable stock
2 plum tomatoes, chopped
1 1/2 cups red lentils
1 bunch basil, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
Freshly ground black pepper

Heat the olive oil in large soup pot and saute the onion, garlic, mushrooms and green pepper (about 5 minutes). Add vegetable stock and tomatoes to the pot and mix well. Stir in lentils and bring to a boil, then lower heat, cover, and cook over medium-low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the basil and balsamic vinegar and simmer covered for another 15 minutes. Add pepper to taste.