A few years ago, upon entering my 30s, I bought a journal in order keep a paper record of the books I was reading. It varies from book to book, but I usually document things like who gave it to me, new thinking it inspired, thoughts on the style or the genre, my desire to continue reading this author, etc.  While I know there are aps and electronic sources that could support a similar goal, I love flipping through these pages every now and then.   Last year I was in a big fiction phase, reading many of the new popular fiction titles as they came out, but I’ve recently been interested in reading more food related books! Any recommendations?

In terms of this meal, my spicy streak continues!  This is almost a one pot meal, though the sausages bake first in the oven and then transfer into the lentil mixture.  I actually didn’t add any salt to this, as the sausages and stock brought a ton of flavor already, and it was one of the most flavorful things I’ve made in a while! The recipe I used today came from PBS, and I followed it pretty closely.The hubbs already requested that this one happens again soon, maybe even for guests (seems to be a pretty big endorsement).

Ingredients:

• 1 onion – diced
• 3 carrots – diced
• 2 celery stalks – diced
• 2 teaspoons of minced garlic
• 1.5 cups of dry lentils
• 4 cups of chicken stock
• 1.5 teaspoons of fresh rosemary
• 1 teaspoon of dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon of dijon mustard
• a splash of red wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon of smoked paprika
• 1 pound hot italian sausage

Steps and Notes:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 and bake the sausages for 40 minutes 
   • The original recipe calls for 425 degrees and baking for 15-20 minutes, but I was also roasting a whole head of cauliflower so I went low and slow instead
   • I chose to bake them in the dutch oven and continued on to the next step once the sausages were cooked.
2. Remove the sausages and set aside.
3. Heat 2 Tablespoons of olive oil in a dutch oven and then add the diced veggies.
   • I decided to dice by hand today, but a food processor would have worked well too
4. Cook the vegetables for 5 minutes – stirring regularly – and then add the garlic. Cook for  2 more minutes.
5. Add the spices (rosemary, thyme, bay leaf, paprika) and lentils to the veggies and mix well.
   • The original recipe called for fresh minced rosemary, I modified this, but believe the mincing is indeed an important for the final product (so you don’t get large spices in every bite)
6. Add the stock, bring to a boil and then down to a simmer. Cook 1/2 covered for 30 minutes.
7. Stir in the mustard and vinegar.
8. Add the sausages to the mixture and cook partially covered for an additional 15 minutes until the liquid is absorbed and the sausages are fully cooked

Thoughts for Next Time:

• I’d like to try baking the sausages at the higher temp that the original recipe called for. My final product today was still very tasty, as the additional simmer at the end brought the flavors together nicely, but it did take more time.
• Rice would be a good alternative for the lentils.