yum.

At the peace rally Marc and I happened upon Saturday afternoon in Washington Sq Park, Patti Smith reminded everyone that the most important tasks at hand for every person are these: 1) keep youself healthy, and 2) don't believe what the news tells you. I'm not one for blind faith (and being on this side of the cynicism fence is the right place to be for that) so I've got number 2 covered. On the other hand, I have been known to skip meals and with the office flu (and yes, it *is* just the flu) coming at me from every direction, it's more important than ever to pay attention to what time I go to bed, when I wake up, and what I'm having for dinner.

At the same time, I'm flirting with the idea of saving up a big ol' bunch of money. Putting away the Victoria's Secret Angel Card for a while, as it were. So while I'd love to cook up a big plate of something fresh and wonderful, I'd be better served by figuring out something to do with what I've already got. Along these lines, I pulled out last year's Christmas gift from Dad, a book of 4-ingredient meals, to see if there was anything I could do with what I've got: beer, spaetzle, an onion, and some frozen french fries. Hey, guess what! There wasn't. But I found some other stuff that seemed to go together and cooked up this treat, and with at least 2 days of leftovers I'm feeling all triumphant... the el cheapo gourmet strikes again!

Lentillian Spin.
you will need:
1/2 c. chopped onion
1 pkg frozen chopped spinach
1 can lentils
1/2 clove chopped garlic
olive oil
salt
pepper
dried oregano and basil
breadcrumbs
1 package pasta, cooked al dente and drained -- I like San Giorgio Rotini

Add a generous pinch of salt and pepper to the onion. Add a small pinch of the oregano and basil.

In a medium saute pan:
Coat the bottom of the pan with olive oil. Heat the oil until flicked water sizzles. Carefully put the chopped onion and garlic in the pan and cook until transparent. Lower heat to a medium flame. Place frozen block of chopped spinach into the pot and cover. Let cook for about 5 minutes, or until the spinach block has softened enough to separate.
Once the spinach has broken up, uncover pot. Drain the excess liquid from the lentils and add to pot. Add a generous pinch of breadcrumbs to soak up any liquid from spinach. Stir all ingredients together and cover. Let cook for about 5 more minutes, to heat the lentils and continue to soften the spinach.

Lower heat to low flame, add pasta and toss. Yum!