Moussaka

Good for company dinners One problem of eating mostly meatless dinners is what to serve when people are coming over, to make it seem like a party. For several years we just bit our tongues and served roast beef or salmon when people came to dinner, but around here we have people to dinner nearly every weekend …

Matzobrei

What is matzobrei? During Passover, if you’re following the rules, you can’t eat bread – and that includes pancakes and waffles and toast! People eat matzoh instead. And for a brunch, instead of pancakes, they mix matzoh with scrambled eggs, and that’s matzobrei. But at our house, we eat matzobrei for dinner too, because we just love …

Mac and cheese

Poor people’s food? When my partner was about ten, his family was really poor for a few years following his parents’ divorce, while his mom got back on her feet again. They ate a lot of macaroni and cheese, and he’s always disliked it since as poor people’s food. But this version certainly doesn’t taste …

Red Lentils/ Sweet Potatoes

Colorful, bright, delicious This is another stripped-down version of several recipes from the New York Times – everybody loved it, whether with rice or with the corn pakoras. It’s very colorful and pretty on the plate, good for company. But caution: this is a lot of recipe to do all at the same time without …

Lentils over rice

Hearty and quick We came in from a cold day out in the nature reserve watching the bald eagles and the migrating swans. I hadn’t ever really thought about it, but hey, swans are white for the same reason polar bears are white – most of the year they live in the snow! Except when …

Lentil soup

Halloween The first time I make lentil soup in the fall is usually for Halloween, when the kids are just itching to be off trick-or-treating and I want them to have something solid in their stomachs before they start eating all that candy. Lentil soup can simmer on the stove, so if anything upsets the …

Leek and potato soup

A base for many soups Leeks are, like celery and chives, one of the first plants available in the spring, because they’re stalks and not leaves. So leeks are a great seasonal food for early spring. Leek and potato soup is great by itself, but it’s also a good base for many other soups. Add …

Lamb stew

Housewarming party in January: What to make for fifty people coming to a housewarming party in January? We made a great deal of finger food, but we also wanted to have a hot stew that would do for dinner if people didn’t eat before they arrived. I came up with this stew, which has very …