Lentil Stew

I just found out that Comcast is making everyone get a cable box to go digital instead of just plugging the cable right into the TV. I got my new cable box tonight from UPS. The instructions said that it could take 45 minutes to initialize your new equipment. So, I chopped up the veggies for this stew and set it up to simmer while I tried to hook up the cable equipment.

I chose this recipe from the Betty Crocker's Choices Cookbook, copyright 1993. I have had this cookbook all these years and I've rarely used it. Since I'm trying new things, I thought I'd better find something I want to cook in this book or donate it.

The stew turned out pretty good, the new Cable equipment didn't. Now I'm stewing literally while I eat my lentil stew that I have to take a half day off of work Monday to wait for the cable guy.

New Choices Cookbook gives little symbols at the top of each recipe so you can see how healthy each recipe is. This one says it's low calories, low fat, low cholesterol and high fiber...almost a full house of healthiness. The one thing it doesn't say is "low sodium". I didn't think 1/2 tsp. of salt was much though.

This is the first time I've tried a recipe that uses the spice mace. It is pretty good. The stew is a little on the spicy side. I'm not sure that the recipe is something I would really crave but I might cook it again.

What can I do with this blog?...
Sometimes I feel like deleting my blog because it's so boring and I never update it. I need to post more often or just give up already. Tonight while I was cooking dinner, I thought that maybe if I cooked a new recipe once a week, that would give me some motivation to blog about something. I have like 50 cookbooks. Don't those de-clutter guru's say if you haven't used it in a year, get rid of it? I can't bring myself to get rid of my cookbooks either so maybe this will serve a dual purpose.

I'm actually baking something I've never baked before right now. It's a Beer Bread from Tastefully Simple. It's basically a mix that you just add 12 oz of beer or soda to the mix and that's it. I had a sample earlier in the month when I attended a fundraiser for Ovarian Cancer. I chose to use Guinness for my beer to add. The batter smelled really good. I just have to wait until it cools to see how it tastes. Technically it can't count as a recipe but at least it's something I've never done before.



...Later...I was a little worried that the Guinness wouldn't be carbonated enough but the bread is really delicious and you can definitely taste the distinct hint of stout in the bread. Now I have to bring this to work tomorrow because I can't be eating all these carbs.

Okay, let's see if I post next week.