17.11.08: Magic lentils with pear and tomato salad

She quickly whipped up the magic lentils tonight consisting of coconut dal with spinach plus brown rice with all the usual spices. A pear and tomato spinach salad pushed its way into the spotlight.

SHE SAYS: What He says.

HE SAYS: Creamy - check. Spicy - check. All round yummy - check. Another great batch of the splendific magical lentils. The salad weren't half bad neither (you can't beat a nice, ripe pear in a salad, that is fo' sure).

02.10.08: Magic Lentils

She rounded up the ingredients, cooked and stirred up a pot of coconut dal with spinach, plus a salad of mixed leaves, pear, physalis and radishes.

SHE SAYS: This was def. the Yellow Dinner, complete with a bargain of a sauvignon blanc to tentatively celebrate the end of a headbanging couple of weeks at work for Her (and I ain't talkin' 'bout the Motley Crue kind). Gingery and just a tad above mildly spiced, the dal proved its worth all over again, being so easy to make and yet so decadently delicious to eat.

HE SAYS: Very creamy batch this time 'round, and just enough curry powder to make it spicy enough without it being too overpowering. The garlic and ginger are very detectable and fragrant in this dish that I never get bored of. The salad fulfilled its fresh, sweet and savoury objectives with aplomb and served as a nice palate cleanser, too.

06.08.09: Magic lentils

She settled on the easiest Saturday nite comfort food possible after a long browse in town: the coconut dal with spinach, plus a salad of sweetfire beetroot, radishes, and special guest star, St Agur blue cheese.

SHE SAYS: Extra ginger and addition of garlic oil for the initial saute didn't quite intensify this one as much as I expected, but then the quantity was nearly doubled, and it still went down a treat: creamy and mildly savoury, with the bits of transparent, sweet onion offering unusually pleasurable texture variation. I mean, chopped onion is usually a workhorse, not a standout element, innit? Many, many thanks to the round-the-corner store for being open to provide said root veg when the few other shops open had none. The speshy blue cheese compensated somewhat for the week's early loss: it's creamier and less intense than last Sunday's find, but v nearly as aaah-worthy.

HE SAYS: The magic element of these lentils is the fact that we've eaten them so may times this year without becoming bored, disillusioned and going right off 'em. It's hard to tire of or question such velvety, creamy goodness week after week, so we don't bother trying. The salad weren't too shabby neither with the sweetfire returning to the fold after a few days off with it's best mate the carrot.

15.08.08: Magic lentils

She was so ready for some easy comfort food after some truly pressurised workdays; hence the return of the coconut dal. The salad with radish, lime-zested beetroot, cherry toms, and grated carrot rmade a complementary colour sensation.

SHE SAYS: That familiar feeling of 'ahhh' enveloped me as I took the first creamy bite, and hypnotised me into having seconds - it was Friday nite, after all. I might have done better to save some, and had I but savoured the tart cool crunch of the salad before refilling my bowl, I might have done.

HE SAYS: Nice to have this supreme red lentil dish back on the schedule. This dish is so creamy and delish it's a wonder why we don't eat it every day. Oh yeah, I forgot, it gives you a bit of a gas problem if consumed in mass quantities but what's a little flatulence between friends and lovers? The day-glo orange stringy carrots and ruby red beetroot provided the rainbow coloured spectacle of the evening, mmm-mmm-good.

06.07.08: Magic lentils, coleslaw and asparagus

She took it fairly easy with the ever-reliable magic lentils plus last nite's coleslaw topped with grilled asparagus.

HE SAYS: These lentils I likey a lot, so much taste, so little washing up. Coleslaw was good second time round and the asparagus added a surprisingly simple and inspired element to the plate. Thumbs up, forks down.

SHE SAYS: The coconut dal never disappoints - this batch was creamy and satisfying, with just the right smidge of bitterness from the curry powder, plus a refreshing ginger kick. Man, raw cabbage sure is filling! I wouldn't say the coleslaw got noticeably better overnight, but it didn't suffer. I happened upon the little pack of asparagus in the fridge and didn't want to waste it, so a quick heat-bath under the grill with swabbings of olive oil and salt 'n' pepper brought out its sweet, starchy quality.

30.05.08: Magic lentils and sprouty salad

After a noticeable absence, She gently coaxed the magic curried coconut dal back to the table, this time with a touch of leftover fresh dill as well as the usual spinach, fresh coriander, and brown-basmati-and-wild rice mix. Similarly typical bowl of beetroot and mixed leaved made way for a new salad sensation in the form of mung bean sprouts.

SHE SAYS: Good balance of curry powder to other flavours - sometimes it can get too strong. I thought I added a whole heckuva lot of ginger, but it didn't stand out. Dill proved a nice, quietly bitter herby counterpoint to the bright coriander. Rice mellowed with coconut milk hit the spot, and the crispy yet juicy sprouts will surely feature again.

HE SAYS: Our wholesome take on the Friday night curry benefited from the inclusion of the dill but needed a shake or two of salt to bring it up to the yum factor we luv. I also splashed on some Crystal, which was more an indulgence then a necessity. Mung bean sprouts paired with the beetroot did their part to liven up the salad portion of the show.

23.04.08: Return of the magic lentils

Welcome home: She stirred up a batch of coconut dal with spinach, ladled it over some remaining brown basmati and wild rice, and tossed together a salad of avo, physalis, cherry toms, cucumber and mixed leaves with rocket.

SHE SAYS: Mild, creamy, and moreish. Sometimes a lack of spice is the right thing, esp when you have a nutty rice mix to up the yum factor. Still marvelling over the tingly, tangy contribution of the gorgeous physalis, too.

HE SAYS: I really missed this dish, glad it's back in rotation, I likey a lot. Would have had seconds but was trying to save some for lunch tomorrow, gorged on the star physalis salad instead, thumbs up all round. Trust in me, you should def. try it.

13.03.08: Magic lentils and salad

A meal we love to take for granted: the coconut dal stirred into spinach and brown rice, paired with salad, avo and cherry tomatoes (all left from last nite's salad supplies).

SHE SAYS: Amazing the difference the proper curry powder can make. This dish def. requires mild, or korma, curry powder, which is a lighter, brighter yellow than other kinds. It just really pulls all the subtle flavours together. Always leaves me wanting more.

HE SAYS: This was a really nice batch of lentils, no overpowering, musty curry powder overload and a really nice creamy consistency. Have I mentioned I love coconut milk? It bears repeating, if so. Salad was not fancy but still enjoyable with the just-ripe avos that tasted like buttah.

19.02.08: Magic lentils and squeaky cheese

The classic coconut dal and rice pals up with a newcomer salad featuring grilled halloumi cheese, fancy French breakfast radishes, rocket, and cucumber. A ho-made dressing of lemon 'n' lime marmalade, olive oil, basil, lime juice, salt 'n' pepper and dried red pepper flakes did its best to provide a sweet and sour contrast.

SHE SAYS: Grilled halloumi is so incredibly delicious with its intense salty-mint flavour, I could just have it on its own. The dal was good, but our new curry powder made it sweeter and not as delicately tasty as usual. My new dressing was sweet and sharp, but not quite as zesty as I'd hoped. Oh, and there's no sense buying Waitrose fancy radishes - they're no spicier than cheapy Tesco ones.

HE SAYS: Halloumi salad was great. The squeaky cheese is one of my faves - as She says, it's so deliciously salty. The coconut dal was also delish, but I agree with Her about the curry powder.

16.01.08: Magic lentils and carrot salad

The coconut dal is back this week, with a tangy new partner served over radishes and salad leaves: Torchi chfenaria, or carrot and caraway salad, a fabulously easy recipe from Medina Kitchen (love!).

HE SAYS: Very nice tonite. More dal than rice this time. The carrot salad was tasty!

SHE SAYS: All usual praise to the dal. I'm so very pleased with the carrot salad: the caraway seeds gave such a nice variation of unusual flavour to the meal, and it was a great way to use up extra carrots. Also got to use my ho-made harissa paste (Medina again).

03.01.07: Magic lentils

So easy and so good: Coconut dal mixed with spinach and fresh coriander, served with a brown, wild, and red carmargue rice mix and watercress/cocktail beetroot salad. Thanks many times over to lechatlunatique for passing on the coconut dal recipe; it's a weekly guest star at the moment.

HE SAYS: Dal was heavy on the ginger this time, which is a good thing.
SHE SAYS: Always deeply satisfying.