Vegetarian Lentil Stew

Signs of winter are starting to appear.  Christmas carols on the radio (ick! too soon!).  Decorations popping up in my neighborhood (seriously???).  Specials, sales, and holiday products all over the mall.  Holiday recipes.  Cold temperatures.  Even a flurry or two has been sighted.

I feel that the Christmas music and decorations make their presence felt far too soon.  Thanksgiving doesn't get it's due attention.  Personally, it's my favorite holiday.  More on that later.  But you shouldn't really be surprised.  A holiday dedicated solely to food?  Duh...

The holiday sales and specials I understand.  I may not like it, but business is all about supply and demand, and businesses wouldn't start their Christmas push this soon if consumers didn't respond to it.  I've started my Christmas shopping myself.  Why stress myself out for the entire stretch of time between Thanksgiving and Christmas if I can get at least a few items crossed off my list in advance?

 But the rapidly cooling weather I fully embrace.  I actually like winter.  I'm weird that way.  Will I get fed up with it sometime mid-January?  Probably.  Do I despise the gray, wet drudgery that is February.  Definitely.  Will the teasing moments of late March and early April irritate me to no end?  Without a doubt.

But this time of the year all I'm thinking about are the comforting parts of winter.  Boots.  Sweaters. (I could live in sweaters.)  Scarves.  Hats.  Gloves.  Blankets.  Cuddling.  Tea.  Hot cocoa.  Pastas.  Soups.  Stews.  So you'll probably see a lot of comfort food on this blog over the next few months.  Starting with this recipe for Vegetarian Lentil Stew.  My mom found this recipe in a newspaper or magazine and made a copy for me the last time I was home.  While there is an almost endless list of soups and stews I am dying to try, I also hadn't made a vegetarian meal in a while, so I moved this one up the list.

(Plus, it was a great excuse to finally use these adorable bowls, from Sur la Table, that we received as a wedding gift.  Don't you just love them?)

Recipe:
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 teaspoons grated, peeled ginger
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 teaspoons curry powder (except I really don't like curry powder, so I used chili powder and cumin instead)
16 ounces peeled butternut squash (4 cups), cut into pieces
1 large apple, not peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 can (19 ounces) lentil soup
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
1 bag (10 ounces) spinach
Lavash flat bread or pita bread, optional

I started by prepping the ginger, garlic, squash, and apple so that it would all be ready when needed.  The recipe moves pretty quickly, so I didn't think there would be much room for chopping once I started cooking.

In a four-quart saucepan, heat oil over medium heat until hot.  Add ginger, garlic, and curry powder and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds.  Add squash, apple, lentil soup, salt, and water; cover and heat to boiling.  Reduce heat; cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until squash is just tender, about five minutes longer.

In batches, gently stir in as many spinach leaves as possible.

Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer five minutes.

Nutritional Information: (included with recipe)
190 calories
4 grams fat
9 grams protein
34 grams carbohydrates
6.1 grams fiber
650 mg sodium
Servings: 4

Low calorie and low fat but still high in protein and fiber.  Not for consumption if you are on a low carb diet though.  I liked that there was a nice balance of vegetable, fruit, and legume servings, especially since most people don't get enough vegetables and legumes in their daily diets, myself included.  It's also a new way to incorporate iron-rich spinach, always a good thing since most women are iron deficient.

Verdict:
Ali says - Decent.  While I won't rave about this meal and say that it was 'to die for delicious - go make this right now - it will rock your world,' it was tasty, filling, warming, and healthful.   I don't think the squash was cooked quite enough (and I actually doubled the recommended cooking time at that point), so I would either cut the squash into much smaller pieces or up that phase of cooking to 15 minutes, possibly more.  It took about 30 minutes from start to finish and used only one pot, so clean-up was super easy.  I am more than willing to eat a decent tasting, easily prepped, easily cleaned meal that is also super healthful.

Alex says - Not a fan.  He also noticed that the squash was undercooked.  I think he thought it was bland.  Maybe more / an adjustment in spices would help.  When pressed, he said he would eat it again if I made it, but he wouldn't be excited about it.  And he didn't go back for seconds, which in itself is telling.  His favorite part of the meal?  The bowl.  Loves the handle!

Maybe I'll make up a pot for myself the next time he has a couple of late night shifts in a row.