Lentils Again?

Today was a rather lovely day. Actually, I've had a couple of lovely days in a row, which is great. Yesterday, Mother's Day, I spent in bed. Okay, I got up once to show Lala how awesome soft-boiled eggs are, and then for some reason lost my mind and thought a 3-minute egg must be the way I used to make them.

Not so much. I ruined two eggs this way, then reboiled the other two and finally got it kind of close to right.

But the rest of the day, I spent in bed reading and napping. True, I'd worked 18 hours the day before and had come home at midnight, so I felt I had some resting to do. And I have to tell you this: I've discovered Molly Harper. (Full disclosure: I thought I'd read her before, and when I met her at Romantic Times, I gushed. Later I realized I was thinking of another book. Ahem. Which is okay, because she's even better than the writer I'd confused her for! And she was awesome in person, too.) So to make up for it, I started How to Flirt with a Naked Werewolf. It is GREAT. She's such a funny, smart writer, and it's just fun. Girl moves to Alaska to get away from Mississippi hippie (hey, that rhymes!) mother, and starts working at the local pub. Cue Northern Exposure soundtrack. You'll like her, too.

(In heavier stuff, I recently read Laura Lippman's new book I'd Know You Anywhere. Oh, oh, oh. Now I understand why, when I was at a HarperCollins cocktail party, my agent stammered a little when we met Laura Lippman. She's that good. It's not a light book, but it's everything I love in women's fiction: voice, tone, emotion, intensity and a rockin' plot.)

Then, after the date with bed, I went to the bar with sisters and friends, and we toasted our dead mothers. I brought brownies, C brought chocolates, and we laughed so much the bartender wanted to come sit with us. We had such a good time. A new tradition is born.

Today I spent Doing Scary Things in the morning (because we all need to do them now and again, and I like to keep my heart rate up) and then I came home and wrote. A lot. I'm in LOVE with a new project and I can't keep my hands off it. I wrote 5000 words today (about 20 pages), which is kind of like going on a blind date that goes really well and lasts the whole night. You don't know ANYTHING yet, but you're so excited you bounce when you stand in place. And I tried to nap, and failed because I wanted to write some more (oh, writing is so often NOT like this), so I got up and did just that.

And now, because apparently what I do is cook things, and then realize there's NO WAY I'll remember how I made it, I'm sharing a dinner recipe that I just made up that was DELICIOUS. Rather than just write it down on a recipe card, why not put it here? So someone else might enjoy? Easy-peasy, and quite fast (I like cooking things during which I can putter around and do other things while the stove is doing the work).

Lentil Asparagus Goodness

Put a cup of lentils and 3 cups of water in a heavy pot. Add a bay leaf, five smashed peeled cloves of garlic, half a teaspoon of turmeric, a teaspoon of salt, a half-teaspoon (or more) or red chili flakes and a bit of fresh ginger root if you have it (we keep it in the freezer so we can always shave off a bit). Bring to a boil, reduce to low simmer, cover, and cook for 30-45 minutes (I like the water to be mostly gone, but if the lentils are getting too mushy, I raise the heat and boil it off). Juice a lemon over the top, stir in.

Then chop up some asparagus, add to boiling water for exactly three minutes. Dump some lentils in a bowl, top with plenty of feta cheese, and top with the hot, drained asparagus. SO DELISH. Add another squirt of lemon if you like. And some more salt. Lentils love salt as much as I do.

If you make it, let me know me what you think!