Comfort Food

I am so tired. I am so, so tired. I am so tired I do not even have energy to manufacture even the tiniest fit of Drama Drama to add a bit of black fizz to the mundanity. It is File Audit week at work, otherwise known as Eff All You, We Are Spending The Whole Day Reciting Rows And Rows Of Tiny Little Numbers And We Do Not Have The Mental Energy To Handle Your Urgent File Requests Or Loan Deadlines Week. I have about as much energy as the soggy dead worms that I did not avoid stepping on this morning.

So I am going to be lazy and give you a recipe. A slow cooker recipe no less. I used a recipe from a neat cookbook I found at the library ... sort of ... except that I pretty much changed everything in the recipe except the title. Eg, the original receipt calls for making meatballs out of ground lamb. Which would probably be delicious, but ground lamb is not really happening in our kitchen! But what I fixed was good, so I'll give you that.

SLOW COOKER MOROCCAN STEW
Serves: 2 (very hungry people)


Somewhat more than 1/2 lb pork roast or stew meat, cut in nice big chunks
1/2 small onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced
To taste: ground coriander, cumin, red pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, and black pepper
1 cup canned diced tomatoes, with liquid
Small handful dried apricots, chopped
Small handful raisins

If desired, brown meat, onion, garlic, and spices in a skillet in some oil. Whether you brown it or not, dump all the ingredients in the slow cooker and cook on LOW all day (or 7 to 9 hours) till tender. Serve with couscous.

This would probably be very delicious if you made meatballs (I would put some of the seasoning in the meatballs, and some breadcrumbs and maybe an egg) and browned them, and then added the tomatoes and fruit. Bell pepper would probably also be good if you had it to hand. The original recipe called for dried currants as well as for apricots and raisins but there I am only willing to buy so much dried fruit.

Spicy Lentil Stew

DH thought this tasted like lentil chili. I prepped the veges last night, then popped them in the slow cooker with everything else this morning and let it cook all day. Add some cornbread and YUM -- the perfect dinner for a chilly Friday. The recipe is a hodgepodge of several I found online, so I am totally taking the credit for it.

You could definitely make this on the stovetop. For a vegetarian version, just use vegetable broth, or water, or white wine instead of the chicken broth.

SPICY LENTIL STEW
Prep Time: 15 minutes, plus 8 hours to cook
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper or chili powder

1 large red or golden potato, cut in large chunks
1 cup dry lentils (I used the brown kind that are easiest to find)

1 cup chicken broth
1 cup canned crushed tomatoes
1 - 2 cups water

Directions:
Heat the oil in a saucepan. Add the carrots, onions, crushed red pepper, and salt and black pepper to taste. Cook for 5 minutes or so until soft. Stir in the garlic and spices for 30 seconds until fragrant.
Dump everything into the slow cooker and cook on "low" all day long. It will end up thick and spicy and delicious.

NOTE: This is, indeed, quite hot. If that intimidates you, just omit the red pepper or some of the cayenne. Or if you are like me, you may like to add half a teaspoon of Tabasco to your bowl. Either way is delicious :)