Unlikely? Perhaps not in the Bay Area. But I haven't yet mastered the deceptively simple lentil, and tonight I set myself to the stove meaning to fill my belly. Luckily for me, my cabinet stores plenty of the little green protein monsters, best substitute for red meat this side of freshly caught seabass ...but that's another task.

My housemate unnervingly keeps spices in the clear plastic and easily tearable bags in which the store sells them. The kind where the information and nutrition and other categorical words are loudly displayed for ease of reference. Unfortunately these get sliced off and tossed while the spices remain nameless, known only by scent and seeing. Turmeric has been confused many a-time amongst other bright yellow india suggesting powders.

According to the spice goddess: Turmeric + Lentil + Curry = Happily Sautéed Tomatoes.

Curry is everyday, lentils come often, but I've never before cooked with turmeric. According to my simple recipe, care of random googling, turmeric is a good match for lentils. So.... I gave it a try. Actually, it was the first ingredient to the lentil broth of which I threw in a lot of other stuff a little less intensely... like curry, onions, garlic, etc. etc. until the spinach and TOMATOES!

According to the judges it need a little more 'sauce.' I guess that means use coconut milk? Or maybe just leave more water. Lentils do suck down a heck of a lot of water.






Why, have you any discretion? Have you any eyes? Do you know what a man is? Is not birth, beauty, good shape, discourse, manhood, learning, gentleness, virtue, youth, liberality, and such like, the spice and salt that season a man?