Salty Cumin Lassi

You may notice that this post is tagged "work snacks" and wonder what kind of tricked-out office kitchens we have. But seriously, you can do this--Hannah does happen to have a tricked-out office kitchen, but all you need is a glass, a water cooler, yogurt, salt, and a fork. If you keep a 32-ounce container of plain yogurt in your office fridge, you can enjoy lassis all week, either with your lunch or as a mid-afternoon pick-me-up. You can even leave out the cumin and it's still delicious. And while everyone else is microwaving a soggy burrito, you'll be dreaming of India.

These measurements are approximations--just eyeball it if you're at the office with no measuring cup, since what really matters is texture.

1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
1/3 cup cold water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cumin

Whisk. Enjoy.

Lentils with Red Wine

We have a bit of an alcohol problem in our house...by which I mean, people bring booze when they come over for dinner, and the leftover wine sits, neglected, in the fridge for about a month. We just kind of forget to drink wine unless we have company, and that means we end up with a lot of half-drunk bottles of wine slowly turning to vinegar. This particular recipe came about because we threw the remaining 1/2 cup of Shiraz from our Seder into Hannah's breakfast lentils, immediately elevating them to lunch lentils!

Twenty cloves of garlic may seem like a lot, but browning them whole and them simmering them with the lentils really softens them up, leaving you with a sweeter taste and no garlic breath!

2 tablespoons olive oil, butter or a combination
20 cloves garlic, peeled and left whole
2 cups green lentils
4 cups water
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup dry red wine
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
Za'atar and/or yogurt for topping

Heat oil over medium heat in a large saucepan. Add garlic and stir for 5-10 minutes, until it starts to color a bit. Add the cumin and stir for 30 seconds to temper. Pour in lentils, water and pepper, bring to a boil, and simmer until tender, about 20-30 minutes. Add wine and salt, stir, and cook 5 minutes more. Remove from heat, sprinkle in the chopped mint, and top individual portions with yogurt and/or za'atar.