What's for dinner?

Every morning, before the day begins, I ask myself a question: What's for dinner? If I was good that week, I already sat down with a cookbook (love my Pampered Chef cookbooks! E-mail janiskamauf@aol.com to order) or my laptop and come up with a few recipes to try this week. Then I get creative... What do I have on hand, what can I buy here, and what will I have to substitute? You can't buy cans of chicken broth, so I've gotten very handy with the bouillon cubes. I'm not a fan of the beef here, so we tend to favor chicken recipes or pull something out of the deep freezer. And you never know what produce will be fresh, so start with a list but be prepared to improvise.

Once I have a few recipes on hand, it's time to head to the markets. I tend to hit Goodies Market first, then the produce stand down the street. If I still need some ingredients, I head to Deli's. (I hear there are some other stores that I should not miss, so before I get stuck in a rut, I will explore and tell you all about it.)

With the shopping done, it's time to head home, put away the groceries and clean the produce. If I plan to cut or peel off the skin before we eat (like pineapple or bananas), I simply wash the produce with dish soap and air dry. If it's something we eat skin and all (like zucchini, apples or lettuce), I soak for a few minutes in Milton sterilizing liquid, then rinse in fresh water and air dry.

My favorite dishes are stews or slow cooker recipes, because I can start it early in the day and let it simmer all afternoon and fill the house with yummy cooking smells (a marked improvement over the smell of mildew that permeates the flat after every rain).

One of my favorite stew recipes is sausage lentil stew. You can throw just about anything in and it tastes good. Take a look...

My kitchen helper, Dane, helps me pick out some sausage from the deep freeze.
This time around we pulled out jalepeño sausage from Texas. 

How many kilograms in a pound of sausage? No clue.
I just punch in some numbers to get the defrost started, then keep an eye on it. 

While the sausage defrosts, I chop the onions, carrots and zucchini.

Brown the sausage and sauté the veggies.

Time to add some broth. The directions say, "Add one tablet per every 0.6l of water." Uh... ok.
I just add one cube for every cup of water and call it a day. Close enough, right? 

The source of all our drinking and cooking water.
It feels extravagant to cook with bottled water, but beats getting sick!
We go through about three of these a week. Each refill costs 300N or about $2. That's not so bad. 

Throw in two cans of diced tomatoes. This can was imported from Italy.
Most of the pasta around here is imported from Italy, too, and you know what?
They never include cooking directions on the package. Italians just know. 

The best part of this stew are the lentil beans.
These are readily available, high in protein and taste great. Add two cups. 

Throw in a generous dash of Italian seasoning and let simmer for at least one hour. 

While the stew simmers, hand wash the dishes. Sigh. I miss my dishwasher.

And when the kids start complaining, "I'm hungry!" serve it up with some crusty bread.

And that is what's for dinner.

Ready to give it a try? Here's the recipe:

Sausage Lentil Stew 

1 lb Italian sausage (any ol' sausage works)

1 large onion, chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped (no celery here, so we double up on carrots and zucchini)

2 large carrots, chopped

1 small zucchini, chopped

6 cups chicken broth

2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans diced tomatoes, undrained

2 -3 garlic cloves

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups dry lentils

black pepper

red pepper flakes, basil, oregano, parsley, thyme 

(or just throw in a generous dash of Italian seasoning like I do)

Directions

1. Brown sausage; drain off fat. 
2. In a large pot combine all ingredients, bring to boil. 
3. Reduce heat, cover.
4. Simmer for about 1 hour or until lentils are tender. Puree about 1 cup of the soup and add back to pot to give it a thicker consistency (optional).
5. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve.

Enjoy!