It's pleasurable to be flexible, even in the midst of a 'tetra-diet,' and it's pleasurable to introduce foods to other people. Not many people know nettles.
Nettle pesto and all that can be done with it is obviously a great intro, but I wanted to make something closer to my own culinary roots: a different take on spinach and lentils.
1 cup yellow split peas, soaked overnight and then cooked, long and slow, with a piece of ginger
coconut oil for the skillet
half an onion, finely chopped
three cloves of garlic
two teaspoons berbere spice
one teaspoon ground ginger
one teaspoon ground turmeric
sprinkle of salt
big bunch of nettles (maybe six cups?)--roughly chopped with scissors.
Two burners is all I have, so sometimes there's pot-juggling here.
Saute' the onions with the berbere. Once the onions are translucent, add nettles and garlic and remaining spices, and a little water if necessary.
Stir all together; once the nettles have wilted, add the whole contents of the skillet to the pan of split peas.
Of course, I was retrofitting and hadn't added the ginger and turmeric at the beginning! I thought they looked a little pale in the above stage, and so my 'season to taste' was the ginger and turmeric: 'season to eye' also--but they'd have been better added to begin with.
This stew was enjoyed just like that, and then it underwent a rebirth as part of a salad. Also featured in the salad were about four cups of spinach, chopped tomato and avocado and julienned beets.
The stew (about two-three cups of it) is just mixed in with everything else: the nettles begin to disappear at that point, but they're in there, playing their quiet and steely role.
Do you replay, reinvision, rebirth your creations? Or is a cheesecake always a cheesecake and never a smoothie?
