Who forgot the red lentils??

“Despite a reputation for being slow, giant tortoises from the Galapagos and Seychelles Islands demonstrate remarkable memory skills over time, according to the results of a new study. The massive reptiles are not only capable of learning new tasks quickly, but can remember their training nearly a decade later, researchers say.“( this excerpt is from “psychology today” and here is the link to the full article: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/animal-minds/201912/giant-turtles-have-surprisingly-strong-memories

My daughter visited friends who happen to host “charlotte” the giant turtle in their backyard. I haven’t seen a turtle for quite some time, I wonder where they all went.

The thing is- charlotte and her great memory probably wouldn’t have forgotten she had a container full of red lentils waiting for someone to do something with them.

Why is that , you may ask?

Well- because the only thing I know how to make with red lentils is red lentil stew, and it’s summer here so stew isn’t exactly the go-to dish.

But!!!

Salads are definitely the IT thing now, the greener the better, so here’s what I did to use those red healthy nutritious tiny things, that is a great source op protein ( 24 grams for 100 grams of raw red lentils!!! that’s more than 100 grams of raw red meat! *cooked red meat contains 28 grams of protein -so not a lot more- and for a fraction of the price. )

I soaked a cup of raw red lentils in hot water for 10 minutes, then stir-fried them in a nonstick skillet with just a drizzle of olive oil and some salt and pepper, tossed and turned it around on the skillet- they tend to cluster for some reason- don’t let them. add some boiling water -say half a cup- and keep stirring until tender but not too tender! be firm with them, although they are tiny, they need to understand the values of standing on their own. when I finish tossing them about and they are nice and tender-firm, I divide them to portion size containers and tuck them in my freezer for next time, except for 1 portion- which I add to my green salad, drizzle tahini sauce and lemon, some salt- and life is great.

the great advantage of red lentils- in my experience- is that they are easier to digest than other legumes, plus- they are colorful and cute and nutritious and super cheap so why wait??

Enjoy- the cooliflower.