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Day 5: Sunny with a Chance of Sprinkles

Tahini Lentils, Artichoke Tapenade on Crostini
Mixing the order today so that something other than breakfast is on view

Also, the real cooking we did today was dinner.  This Ottolenghi lentils with tahini recipe was a grad school staple--cost effective, quick, almost completely doable from the pantry. Tonight I had a fresh tomato, but I have often made it with canned. Any green herby thing will do, if you don't have cilantro.  I whipped up half a batch, which was enough for two plus a small leftover.  As with most Ottolenghi recipes, it is very rich.  I cut back on both the tahini and the olive oil, and it wasn't missed.

Often, the tiny ends of the loaf bread end up by the wayside. Tonight? They became crostini.  Spray with olive oil and bake at 425 for 5 min on each side to toast them up nicely.

A COVID-19 meme has been all of the "esoteric veggies" no one wants to panic buy. Artichoke tapenade, posted by David Liebovitz, prompted me to pull out the can that has been randomly languishing in our pantry for months.  I had nowhere near a cup of olives on hand, but I did have about 10 of them.  And some cornichon left from Thanksgiving.  And capers.  I didn't go near the full amount of briney things the recipe called for, but pureed it all together and it is still delicious.  Experiment.  It's worth it!



The rest of the day was just assembling; no stove required. Bringing a pop of interest to leftovers is not that different from how we cook at home normally: we accrue a ton of random condiments and spices, but in general remix cooked meal components until they’re gone. We’ve been working on reducing food waste for a while, and those tricks are getting put to good use here. Sometimes, it just needs a little sprinkle of something.

Avocado Toast
It’s a meme, but it’s delicious. Ours was garnished with green onion, sumac, sesame, sea salt, and The Good Olive Oil. Cantaloupe is normally not something I buy... it’s hard to eat a whole one!  But at the moment, a lot of fruit in one package is a bonus. Salt on that, too, of course, to enhance the sweetness.


Polenta and Asparagus with Sprinkles; Greek Yogurt... with Sprinkles
Here, the polenta from Sunday meets the asparagus from Saturday. And they are joined by some Thai Chili Lime almonds from Trader Joe’s, including, yes— a sprinkle of the seasoning from the bottom of the bag. Greek yogurt is topped with blackberry jam and a sprinkle of dukkah. I picked up the dukkah awhile back but had yet to try it. This one has sesame, almonds, fennel, coriander, aniseed, salt... it actually is a very lovely contrast to the deep, sweet jam and tangy yogurt. Not a traditional use of this Egyptian condiment, but hey. Sometimes you hit a winner!

And, folks-- that's today.  Vegetarian.  Sans yogurt and a Tbsp of (easily substitute) butter in the lentils, also vegan.  And totally delicious.

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