Spicy Lentil Wraps with Tahini Sauce

Spicy Lentil Wraps with Tahini Sauce

Vegan wraps filled with lentils and bulgur, red pepper spread, hummus and cabbage. A spicy tahini dipping sauce elevates these wraps to fabulous.

Have to keep up with the times, said Adam. I predict there’ll come a time when you can’t find a horse, Mr. Trask. Maybe so.
East of Eden, John Steinbeck

Inspiration

I’ve made these Spicy Lentil Wraps with Tahini Sauce for road and train trips, shared them with unsuspecting carnivores and served them for an executive board meeting luncheon. Spicy Lentil Wraps with Tahini Sauce are a wonderful make ahead dinner. Leftovers are the perfect grab and go lunch. These vegan wraps always get stellar reviews. I heard that “wraps” were out of style. Which immediately prompted me to share my favorite wrap recipe. Keeping up with food trends can be exhausting and downright silly. I’m here to share food that’s vibrant with flavor and worth the investment in time and effort to make.

Essentials

There are several components to the Food 52 recipe for Spicy Vegan Lentil Wraps with Tahini Sauce. Don’t let all these pieces to the recipe discourage your wrap making. The sauce and spreads can be made ahead of time. While the lentil and bulgur filling cooks, gather together all the components and get ready to roll the Spicy Lentil Wraps with Tahini Sauce. The original recipe can be found on Food 52. Below are the tips and hints for how I make the Spicy Lentil Wraps with Tahini Sauce. READ MORE . . .

Almost Miss Spoon’s Quinoa Salad

Almost Miss Spoons Quinoa Salad

Kindness

“After awhile, said Cyrus, you’ll think no thought the others do not think. You’ll know no word the others can’t say. And you’ll do things because the others do them. You’ll feel the danger in any difference whatever—a danger to the whole crowd of like-thinking, like-acting men. What if I don’t? Adam demanded.”

East of Eden, John Steinbeck

Inspiration

Did you pick a word for this year? It’s a resolution for the new year, in a word. It’s another avenue for self-improvement. A mantra, a meditation in mindfulness, in just one word. To be better than before, to do better than before. To keep trying. I have chosen gratitude and forgiveness before. This year I chose kindness. I don’t think of myself as unkind, but I can be. Often it is a protection to cover that fragile place of vulnerability. I can find it tantalizing as a replacement for anger. A reward for getting even after a petty misunderstanding. The always unjust places of pride and arrogance can spew unkindness. How can being unkind be so right, when later it feels so wrong. It’s so borderline, the knife blade is sharp, it can cut. The blade slices while the rest of the knife just follows along. I’m trying not to follow along, to break the pattern. To keep the knife dull, it makes it more difficult for a fast, clean cut. READ MORE . . .

Roasted Carrots with Fall Spices and Yogurt Lime Dressing

Roasted Carrots with Fall Spices and Yogurt Lime Sauce

Garden Tales

“You can scrape the carrots, her mother said. Is that water hot? Just coming to a boil.”

East of Eden, John Steinbeck

Inspiration

We put in a small vegetable garden this spring. Yes, in the midst of this monumental California drought, a little garden grew. What an adventure, to see what flourishes and what languishes. My sporadic care and watering was part of spring and summer and now fall. Tomatoes are always dismal, but I never give up trying. The surprise was the mammoth sunflowers and these carrots! I was cutting down the rest of the sunflowers and inadvertently uncovered a huge carrot, and then pulled up lots more. I had no idea they were doing so well or why the carrots grew and beets and potatoes were failures. We had this recipe to celebrate my little harvest. READ MORE . . .

Eggplant Stacks with Buffalo Mozzarella

Eggplant Stacks with Buffalo Mozzarella

An opulent summer dinner

“The cattle lay drowsing all day long under the willows and only moved out at night to feed. An umber tone came to the grass. And the afternoon winds blowing inevitably down the valley started a dust that was like fog and raised it into the sky almost as high as the mountaintops.”

East of Eden, John Steinbeck

Inspiration

Its still summer. If only it would last forever. But then juicy peaches and sweet corn would become mundane. Voluptuous tomatoes would be boring and perfectly regal eggplant might be ignored for the avalanche of winter squash and pumpkin that nudge us to the next season. Grab the last of summer’s finest and then welcome autumn. READ MORE . . .

Garlicky Kale with Beans

Garlicky Kale with Beans

The Easiest of Recipes

“Charles placed seven eggs on top of the warming oven and built his fire carefully of small pieces of kindling until it burned fiercely. He put the skillet down next to the flame. His sullenness left him as he fried the bacon.”

East of Eden, John Steinbeck

Inspiration

This is barely a recipe. It started, as many things do, with items from the pantry. There was the push to get dinner done and fresh kale that needed to be used. The first time I stirred together just garlic, kale and beans. It needed more and I added the red pepper flakes along with the garlic. Later lemon zest and a sprinkle of cheese made this into a recipe. It has become a favorite. Fresh, quick, full of healthy ingredients, an easy recipe like this deserves to be shared. READ MORE . . .