Lentil Stew, A History

I went to Indiana University in Bloomington for a B.S. in Dietetics. Actually, I got a B.S. in Health and Safety somehow, but my "major" was Dietetics. One of my favorite classes was a foods lab where we cooked in this great big kitchen with great big long windows in the oldest portion of the university, so it overlooked the original "square."

In this class we divided into four groups, about four people in each, and we prepared recipes - same dish with slightly different alterations. One group might overbeat the whole wheat muffin batter or one group might add cool water instead of warm to the yeast, etc. Then we compared and contrasted and ate. One of the many recipes we tried was this awesome lentil stew. It became Jennie's Lentil Stew back home, all my friends have the recipe and enjoy it.

Early on when Stan and I were vegetarians (before I was pregnant with Seth and became a raging carnivore, sniffing out cheesesteak joints a mile away) this was a weekly staple. I haven't made it for a long while though, but today I threw a pot together since we have an impossibly crazy schedule tonight from 2:45 until 8:30. If you like beans or lentils, try it!

1/4 cup olive oil

1-2 carrots, chopped

2 large onions, chopped

1/2 t. marjoram

1/2 t. thyme

3 cups of broth or water

1 cup lentils, washed

1 T dried parsley (or a handful of fresh)

1 lb canned tomatoes, crushed or whole

Swiss cheese

Saute the onions and carrots in the olive oil until soft. Add marjoram and thyme and saute a minute longer. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook until the lentils are soft, about 45 minutes.

Serve with grated Swiss cheese. Jarlsburg is good too!