Fusilli with Green Lentils, Root Vegetables, and Parsley-Caper Puree

I cannot believe there was a time when I used to put bottled tomato sauce on my pasta. It's been years, but I still kinda cringe thinking about it.

Spring is approaching rapidly, so I'm trying to make unfamiliar recipes from the "Winter" section while it's still cold out. Tonight I opted for this pasta dish, which is truly delicious. I made it once a few years ago but then forgot about it. Silly me.

The sweet parsnips and carrots blend perfectly with the tangy lemon, caper, parsley sauce. And to make the meal even better, Jack also includes lentils that have simmered with garlic and bay leaves.

Flavor, nutrients, protein, and easy to make -- we're giving tonight's dinner 4 stars out of 5. Sometimes meals can weigh me down, but I feel great after this one.

Curried Red Lentils with Caramelized Onions

Could this be the most delicious recipe in the book? Yes. I believe it is. And, it's very easy to make. However, there's a lot of clean up afterward, which is why I don't make this all that often. My ideal dinner is made in one pot. This one takes two pots and a saute pan. But, seriously, it's fracking delicious.

Let me talk through the layers. Underneath the lentils in the picture lies a bed of rice infused with cinnamon. It's hard not to just chow down on the rice alone. Next, we have the red lentils which are cooked with garlic, fresh ginger, and curry powder. And then finally, on top you have caramelized onions. Yum. Yum. Yum.... Yum.

I don't care about the clean up. This dish falls under the six out of five stars category. The rewards also include getting to nosh on some rice when you put the leftovers in a dish, and for the two of us we'll each get at least one more lunch out of this. Maybe more than that.

Did I say "yum?"

Lentil Saute with Indian Flavors

Continuing with our lentil theme... Tonight's dinner demonstrates that you can have the same protein two days in a row, in this case lentils, but still enjoy very different flavors and textures.

Tommie stepped up to the plate (pardon the pun) and cooked dinner, while I was away playing at the Pilates studio. He cooked it perfect: lentils, onions, garlic, some chocolate mint from the garden, some top-secret spices, and topped off with plain yogurt.

I came home in time to help with the rice and followed Jack Bishop's "Simplest Rice Pilaf" recipe. 99% of the time I make rice this way: a little butter, heat up a cinnamon stick, toast the rice in the pot and then add the water. It's crazy what one cinnamon stick can do to a pot of rice. Out of this world.

We're going with a 4.5 for tonight's meal. It's a perfect "Crap! We have nothing to eat! Oh wait, I always have lentils, garlic, and onions in the pantry... I know what I can make!" meal. If you're a vegetarian, you want to add this one to your repertoire.

Green Lentil and Roasted Vegetable Salad with Mustard-Tarragon Vinaigrette

For a salad, this is one fabulous dish. I've decided that roasted vegetables are my favorite food. I'd pick roasted vegetables over a cupcake even. It was a little hard to keep my hands away from the freshly roasted turnips and red onions so that there were enough left to combine with the lentils into the dressing. But, as you can see, I managed to control my desires and not just nosh on lightly browned, droolingly delicious, freshly roasted turnips.

Though this dish takes a while to make, it's very easy, and pretty much fool-proof. Oh, and I chose to use arugula for my tender green of choice. Me and POTUS have similar tastes in greens.

We're giving this dinner a 4. For a salad, it's a 5 hands down, but Tommie and I aren't the hugest salad fans. So, 4 stars it is.