Casualties?

Possibly one--the jalapeno pepper plant.  It was covered with a wastebasket, but it didn't look so good this morning.  I didn't even bother checking the Walmart tomatoes.  I'm hoping they will die so I don't feel guilty about replacing them with healthier stock.

Now, on to The China Study Cookbook recipe #18,

Leafy Lentils.


I didn't bother with food styling.  It was awful.  Not quite bad enough to throw away, but nowhere near good.

First, when I see "diced tomatoes with jalapenos," I think Rotel.  But it didn't work in this dish.

Second, the lentils and spinach were great together.  But adding three tablespoons--three tablespoons--of dried oregano to one cup of lentils, that was a bad idea.  I thought it was a bad idea at the time and backed it off a little--but not enough.  The dried oregano was bitter and whangy.  Could it have been a mistake?

For a final touch, I added one tablespoon of balsalmic vinegar before serving.  (Per recipe).  So, both bitter and sour.   I'm still thinking balsalmic vinegar has a place in the world, but I've yet to discover it.  Will keep trying.

So that recipe was a fail.  However, if I ever have lentils, spinach, garlic and onions, I might just try simmering them together and pop a little tamari in.  I think they'd be friends.