I'm back! As all times when I have long absences from the old food blog, I hope to post more often. I signed up for a CSA recently so I look forward to summer when I will get tons of fresh veggies and lots of inspiration for cooking!
So about that food pictured above...Berbere is an Ethiopian spice mixture that is made of things like fenugreek, chili peppers, clove, paprika, coriander, cardamom, etc. Some folks make the blend themselves. I'm lucky enough to have African markets near where I live, so I just picked up a small container of the spice mix the other day.
I am a huge fan of
Ethiopian food, so I was excited to use the flavors in other dishes.
I decided to make some lentils (or split peas? I can't remember which these were) and cook them in a bunch of berbere. I started with onion, garlic, ginger, oil, salt, and added berbere and dry legumes. Added water and a small can of seasoned tomatoes, brought everything to a boil and then simmered until the legumes were at a tenderness I liked. I added some frozen okra and cooked until it was done.
While this was cooking, I made some quinoa: 2 parts veggie broth to one part quinoa. Bring everything to a boil, reduce to simmer, cover and cook for 15-20 mins.