Brown Lentils and Vegetables

I've always tried to cook with lentils, and somehow I always manage to mess it up! Nonetheless, I continue to try to cook them. This time, instead of purchasing canned lentils I decided to go with dried ones. It seemed to work out! I found this simple recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 C of brown lentils
• 1 C carrots, diced
• 1 C red onions, diced
• 2 large cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 C celery stalks, diced (I used bell peppers, since I didn't have celery on hand!)
• 1/4 C fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan, put lentils, carrots, onions, garlic, thyme, and bay leaf. Add just enough water to cover.
2. Bring to a quick boil, and then reduce heat and cover until lentils are tender but not mushy.
3. Drain well and then put the mixture in a medium bowl.
4. Add peppers (or celery... or both!), lemon juice, olive oil, and season with salt, pepper, and parsley.

Notes:

As I mentioned, I didn't have any celery on hand so I used finely diced bell peppers instead. I also didn't have any parsely, so I added a few dashes of other spices - cayenne pepper, cumin, and turmeric - to give it some flavour.

All around, this recipe was a success! Lentil win!