Easy chana masala and kale

The "easy" comes from the fact that I did not make this chana masala.  Here's a recipe for chana masala that looks good.  It is one of Red Sox Daddy's fave Indian dishes.

I bought some yesterday morning during a solo week's food shopping trip.  It was early and I was alone at the deli counter at Whole Foods which never happens.  While I was waiting for the usual slow cooked ham and roasted turkey, I had a clear view of the big, pretty (read colorful...orange is a color that just makes me happy) vats of chicken vindaloo and chana masala.

The chana masala was vegan and GF so I went off-list and bought a pint container for Red Sox Daddy.

Fast forward to lunch today.  RSD did not like the texture of the chickpeas so there was quite a bit of the chana masala leftover.  There was also leftover white rice in the rice cooker.  I had some kale calling to me so I made me a chana masala-kale rice bowl.

I reheated the chana masala, sautéed the kale with garlic, and added both to a bowl of rice.  Yum.

Sautéed Kale

1 bunch kale, washed and torn into bite-size pieces

1 large/2 small cloves garlic

extra virgin olive oil to coat the bottom of a sauté pan

Heat olive oil and press garlic into pan. (I love my garlic press, you may do with your garlic what you will)

Add kale.  Stir well.

Lower heat and cover so kale wilts.

Sloppy lentils

Once a month, my friend, E, hosts Sacred Singing at her house. It is a wonderful gathering to sing sacred songs and to break bread together. It was at Sacred Singing that I was introduced to E's Sloppy Lentils.

I have very fond childhood memories of Mrs. Kasuga's Sloppy Joe's. I don't remember anyone else ever making them for me...maybe my mom once or twice. If I close my eyes, the memory of her Sloppy Joe's are multi-sensory. I loved them.

I think my kids would probably like Sloppy Joe's. They love the meat sauce I make for spaghetti, which is made with ground meat. But, because I have yet to venture into baking burger buns, Sloppy Joe's hadn't entered my mind.

These Sloppy Lentils are so good, they have me seriously pursuing the baking of burger buns. I came close to making them today, but I'm in the midst of a lot of cooking and just didn't have the energy and time.

So, tonight, we will enjoy the lentils over rice. This batch came out quite salty. I'm not sure why, though I am certain the fault lies with me and my 'eyeballing' style of cooking :-)

E's Sloppy Lentils

(...as modified from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker cookbook...with some tweaks by me)

2 Tbsp safflower oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 1/2 cups dried brown lentils, picked over and rinsed
14.5 ounce can crushed tomatoes (I prefer Muir Glen fire roasted
tomatoes for the extra smokiness)
5 cups water
2 Tbsp Bragg's liquid aminos
1 Tbsp prepared mustard
1 Tbsp light brown sugar
3-4 Tbsp honey mustard (if I don't have any around, I just put in 2
Tbsp honey and 2 additional Tbsp prepared mustard)
1 tsp salt
freshly ground pepper

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet (I use the saucier, but sometimes
resort to a soup pot) over medium heat. Add the onion, cover, and
cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the chili powder, stirring
to coat.

2. Add the rest of the ingredients, turn up the heat until it comes to
a boil, then turn it down to a lively simmer and cover it. It takes a
solid two hours to cook, sometimes longer. Check it every half hour
to stir and make sure it has enough water.


I've adjusted the amount of cooking time and water to make this with
navy beans or kidney beans, too -- not quite as perfect to pile into a
crusty roll when I use the larger beans, but still quite tasty. With
the beans it takes at least an extra hour cooking time, and additions
of water for the last hour or hour and a half.