Wednesday night - March 9, 2011

It's a rainy day! (I have been trying to teach my children that here in Israel we don't wish the rain away, as we may have in the States, instead we view it as a bracha. We need all the rain we can get! They're still not so happy about not playing outside, though.)

Rainy day, drafty house... add it up and we just HAVE to have a simple warming supper.

So, tonight we'll have:

Garlic Bread (I've been roasting fresh garlic cloves in my oven, and then spreading this on french bread... yum!)

Lentil, Barley, and Black Bean Stew - I'm putting this in my crock pot, despite the mixed reviews about energy efficiency. It warms up the kitchen a bit, and that would be good today!
This stew is made by combining diced onions, garlic, potatoes, tomatoes, and lentils (rinsed), barley (rinsed) and black beans (pre-cooked) in the crock pot. Season to taste with salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper if you're adventurous!  (This stew is filling and provides complete proteins because of the grain/legume combination!)

Cut Veggies with Hummus - for my children who feel the need to have a bunch of different foods on their plates!  (You can make your own hummus like this: soak 250g of chick peas, overnight. drain. Boil in fresh water for 2 hours, salting towards the end. Transfer to your food processor, reserving the cooking water. Process till smooth (you will need to add cooking water to achieve the right consistency). Add lemon juice (to taste - probably 1-2 lemons' juice), minced garlic (to taste - probably 2 cloves), 6 T. tahini (sesame paste), 2 T. olive oil. Process it all till smooth, adding more of the cooking water as necessary. Enjoy!)