Dutchie

Meet my favorite kitchen-friend...Dutchie, my Mario Batali-brand Dutch oven (because I'm too frugal to buy myself a Le Creuset...maybe one of these days):

(I like to think that "M" is for "Maggie" and not "Mario". And please ignore the hulk-like reflection in the lid, as my arms and chest look distortedly beefy. )

Dutchie is amazing. Dutchie does everything right. Dutchie makes me so happy sometimes, I want to kiss him.

Okay. That may be going a little overboard. But suffice it to say that if I had to abandon my apartment at a moment's notice (say, if I had to pack a Tornado Bag like I used to do when I was a kid), the one thing in my kitchen that I would save would be Dutchie.

See, I'm a one-pot meal kinda girl. I love stews and soups and generally thick things that hang out in a single pot for a long time. Dutchie has helped me make more chilis and cassoulets than I can even count. He has housed many a homemade macaroni and cheese, braised all manner of meats (mostly lamb, if we're keeping count), and even traveled with me to and from distant and not-so-distant cities so that I may cook, in my mind, a more perfect meal.

So, during my Lenten vegetarianism thing, it just seemed all sorts of right that Dutchie be involved. One of the vegetarian recipes I was really looking forward to making was Eritrean Lentil Stew, courtesy of one of my favorite food blogs in the history of time, Global Table Adventure. And let me tell you, it did NOT disappoint. I ended up using a bit more carrot than the recipe called for -- because a) I love me some carrots, and b) I needed to use up some carrots I had hanging out in the veggie bin --, and I made my spice blend using pre-ground spices. Here's what it looked like while it was hanging out, cooking:

It may not look like much, but trust me, it was goooood. That's five 'o's. And, though Ethiopian and Eritrean food is traditionally sopped up with injera, a delicious, spongy, expand-in-your-stomach bread, the packaged naan/flatbread I picked up in the grocery store worked really well with this stew.

Yum! I will definitely be making this again, with or without Lenten vegetarianism.

And, p.s., if you are ever in the Dallas area and get the urge to try Ethiopian food, please let me know! There are a couple of really good places I've been to, and still more others I want to try, though Lalibela holds a special place in my heart.

Happy eating!