Earthy Lentil Cakes Hit the Spot

The weekend of Hurricane Irene was pretty stellar for me in terms of cooking, as I literally cooked my hiney off the entire time, creating dynamic dishes for three days straight.  One of these were vegetarian South Indian lentil cakes, which were a bit of a pain to put together, but in the end were really rewarding.

Made of a mix of dried legumes (in my case lentils), brown rice, peas, cilantro, mint and a big hunk of roasted garlic on top, it was a healthy yet very hearty dish that satisfied our insatiable bellies during time of intense boredom and restlessness.  I loved making the dish, especially since I got to create my own raita, made of low fat yogurt, garlic, cumin, cucumber, fresh herbs and lemon juice.  

The entire combination was deliciously fresh and the raita added something special, raising the sophistication of this dish and at the same time making it feel more authentic.  Even though it takes a little while to prepare, all the effort is absolutely worth it.  In Dan's words, it tasted like a "flavorful falafel cake."  I'll take that compliment, thank you.

Here's the recipe by way of Bon Appetit.  

South Indian Lentil Cakes with Raita 

Everything But the Kitchen Sink Pasta

While I try to limit my pasta intake, when I do have it, I go all out.  In the mood to make something hearty and colorful (hence the vibrancy of this dish), I found a neat little recipe on bonappetit.com for Creamy Fettuccine with Prosciutto, Asparagus, Mushrooms and Peas.  

I immediately loved all the ingredients in it, as it contained tons of veggies and just a hint of meat from the prosciutto.  Amending the recipe as I usually do, I substituted the cream based sauce for 1% lowfat milk and also substituted olive oil for butter.

My favorite ingredient in this was the asparagus, which came out fresh and crunchy, and the key is using a really good organic kind.  I was also quite pleased with the prosciutto aspect, which I decided to roast instead of sautee, producing that deliciously crunchy texture.  It tasted like smoky bacon, and that's just what I was going for.  After I had a bowl of it, I was completely sated and content.  Bon Appetit to that!

Everything But the Kitchen Sink Pasta (as I'm nicknaming it). Recipe courtesy of Bonappetit.com