Parippu (a.k.a. Kerala Lentils)

A few Saturdays ago, I visited one of my favorite Ethiopian restaurants in D.C., Etete, with my friends West & Amanda (of apple and pumpkin picking fame). I love trying different ethnic cuisines, and Ethiopian food is definitely near the top of my list. We settled on the vegetarian combination (without fish), some Kitfo (a spicy beef curry), and Yebeg Alicha (a milder lamb stew). Everything was delicious. While I love the meat curries, I’ve mentioned before on the blog that I’m not much of a meat eater. As a result, it was only natural that my favorite part of the meal wound up being the variety of lentils in the veggie combo.

This, of course, made me crave some of my mom’s parippu. If you’ve ever eaten Indian food, this is probably better known to you as Daal. Just think of this as the Kerala version of the dish. I wound up calling my mother so many times last night that she thought I’d been in some sort of accident when she saw all the missed calls. Nope, just needed the recipe.

While I was pleased with the results, this would have benefit from some cilantro and curry leaves. I, of course, had neither because I ran out of the former and pretty much never have the latter. What can I say? I’m a bad Indian. Cilantro or not, this dish is delicious, healthy, and easy to make. And, now that Trader Joe’s sells red lentils, you really have no excuse not to make this. Happy eating!

Individual Turkey Pot Pies

So Turkey Day is officially over. Thanksgiving at my mom’s house is filled with tons of turkey, plenty of sides, and a whole bunch of family. This year, Liz and I took over the cooking in an attempt to give our mom a break (naturally, this resulted in her spending the day cleaning. We fail). I wound up on turkey duty, recreating the Lemony Brined Turkey that has become a staple at the annual law school Friendsgiving, and the two of us split the sides.

Needless to say, like most people, we always wind up with too much leftover turkey. So what’s a girl, who doesn’t really like turkey, to do? After Friendsgiving this year, I decided to give my leftover turkey some new life in the form of mini pot pies that I froze to make a quick meal during the impending exam season.

The recipe for the filling is inspired by the one used by my friend Sarah. If you have time, you should definitely make your own crust. If not, however, the pre-made refrigerated variety works just fine. Hope you all had a great holiday. Happy eating!

Chocolate Cranberry Pecan Granola

Dear Future Exam-Taking Self:

While I appreciate that you had grand plans to start outlining this weekend, you really made a wise decision by visiting Union and Eastern Markets with friend and foodie Amanda, doing laundry, getting ahead on reading, and, you know, choosing to make granola instead of opening those pesky class notes. While you may not actually understand the rules of evidence as well as you should, keep in mind how delicious procrastination was. One day, you may make those granola-crusted nuts that inspired you on Smitten Kitchen. But, until then, just remember to breathe and to take a bite of your latest creation. While it may not give you the answer as to what constitutes a Fourth Amendment violation, it will provide endless comfort in the form of mildly sweetened oats, chocolate, pecans, and cranberries. You. Are. Welcome.

All the best,

Present Outline-Avoiding Self