Arroz con Menestra--the flavor of nostalgia
Thursday, August 18, 2005
I really missed Kimi’s lentils over rice that we had so often for Tuesday night dinners.
Maybe i should explain “Tuesday Night Dinners.” Back in my old place in Cali, there were four of us living together under one room in a cute house in GT. Every week, we’d have an open Tuesday Night Dinner. It didn’t necessarily have to be a tuesday. In fact, it often moved from one day of the week to the next, but usually for good long streaks of months at a time. Anyone and everyone was invited. We’d cook for people to come and have a nice, social meal with us. Sometimes we’d have as many as 23 or as few as just the people in the house (that includes Alan, since his stained-glass studio was in our garage!). Good times!
So i got the recipe from Kimi and took a stab at making them. 6 hours (and a slightly burned pot) later, I had YUMMY YUMMY LENTILS! Top that off with paper-thin slices of red onion that have been marinating in lemon or lime juice for several hours, put it all over rice, and there i was back at home in the GT, hangin’ with my roomies on a Tuesday night with 11 (give or take another 10 or so) of our closest friends with enough food to fill all. Ah, nostalgia.
So i guess this is a shoutout to all my roomies who i used to live with (Kimi, Rita and Shelia...and Alan-the other member of the house)--i miss living with you guys!
And the best part about cooking this dish is that i have enough lentils to keep me alive for at least a month! Woot! And tonight, i bought ceviche and tostones (fried plantains) from Flor De Mayo to add to the mix.
If you want to partake in this joy (minus the nostalgia), you can check out the recipe that Kimi sent me. Neither of us went fully by it, but it gives you an idea. Yeah, don’t add the pork skins. That doesn’t sound so appetizing.
Just go to the site where Kimi got her lentil recipe to experience your own bit of South American joy!
YUMMY LENTILS! Dude why was my number not the first call you made?! I would have been on the train in seconds, from bk to the upper west, for some oh so yummy lentils! Just thinking about it make me want to write an epic poem starring me and my stomach… Ode to lentils and their yumminess, a love story.
Posted by on 08/18 at 07:49 PMi would love to hear ode to lentils by the lovely susan =) and yay! lentils! it sounds like you enjoyed… while everyone likes my cooking here (this week was chicken adobo and homemade and handwrapped lumpia - yum!!!) no one appreciates the lentils like we did, kat. we gotta eat some the week you’re here. tuesday night, k?
Posted by kimi =) on 08/18 at 09:08 PMoh, and that was 12 pounds of chicken and 100 hand-rolled lumpias. yah… good stuff!
Posted by kimi =) on 08/18 at 09:09 PMI think i miss lumpia that most. Ah vinegar/garlic/soysauce. My favorite! Ooooh. May i request lumpia in addition (or in place of) lentils? It’s the one thing i haven’t been able to make out here myself. You know, cooking for yourself just isn’t conducive to making pounds and pounds of lumpia. :S
Posted by on 08/19 at 08:13 AMyou’re in luck… i handrolled 100 lumpia, but i only fried 87 of em, and i kept 13 in the freezer, so we’ll fry that up just for me n you =) hahahaah… will that be enough for us?
Posted by kimi =) on 08/19 at 09:19 AMguess what! we’re about to eat LENTILS! yummy yummy yummy i will soon have lentils in my tummy
ahhh
Posted by on 08/21 at 03:58 PMit’s been AWHILE since i’ve visited this site, and i’m pleased to see the light-hearted nature of it still exists. i can vouch for the delectability of kp’s lumpia, however, i have yet to bask in what’s sounds to be a triumph in lentil-liciousness. i imagine it won’t be long before i can boast an experience (or more), but imagination should precede action, and not replace it.
your hair looks great, kat!
enjoy your day.
Posted by rafa on 08/22 at 10:51 AM