cynthia at the sandwich life Food and Cooking, The Guys and School, The House

Curried Red Lentil Pilaf with Barramundi and Avocado Salad

I got home last night to find Ernie had done lots of weeding so we should be able to finally get my seeds and plants in this weekend. Not that we'll fit them all in. Anybody need some zinnia seeds? We sat outside and admired our dirt before Owen dragged Ernie off to shoot baskets. I went inside and puttered around the kitchen talking to Leo and trying to figure out what to make for dinner. I ended up with barramundi over curried red lentil and orzo pilaf with a salad of avocado, asparagus and onion.  Oh, and with a little celery leaf puree on top! It really needed another dash of color—if I'd had some tomatoes tossed into the sald it would have looked lovely but all in all it was pretty damn good. 

The barramundi (we got it frozen at Schnuck's…I really like it and it's supposed to be sustainable etc.) is quite thin. I cut each piece into three and dusted it with flour mixed with curry powder and salt and pepper and sauteed it quickly. My only mistake was that I should have seasoned it a little  more aggressively.  For the pilaf I sauteed an onion as long as I could stand and then added about half a cup of orzo and stirred til it started to brown a bit, added a teaspoon or two of curry powder and some red pepper flakes, stirred for a few minutes and then added an equal amount of red lentils. I added some water and let it simmer for awhile until done. I had two gorgeous avocados that were going to go if I didn't use them so I cubed them up, dumped in some leftover cooked asparagus and some thinly sliced onion that we'd soaked in water….added a bit of lemon juice, olive oil and salt and pepper.  Oh, and I had some thin celery I get from Greg….it's not thick stalks—it almost looks more like parsley.  I love it….it was getting a little tired though so I just pureed it in my food processor with a tiny bit of oil, water and salt and pepper.  It was wonderfully bright and fresh on top of it all.

My picture isn't great but it IS an honest picture.  Yes, that is what our kitchen peninsula (we can't call it an island because one side is against the wall) really looks like most of the time….stacks of plastic containers, cookbooks, some bleach wipes, a computer, metal cups, speakers, miscellaney….and my eldest son. And no, my children didn't eat this but we didn't care last night….they were hungry early so we fed them and ate ourselves later….

P1100807 _Snapseed

Oh, and on a separate note….Owen's class is visiting a park today and parents can attend. Here's the note he left on the bathroom mirror (where all important notes go) to remind him. I hope Ernie remembers to bring his 'good spirit.'

P1100809

 

5 thoughts on “Curried Red Lentil Pilaf with Barramundi and Avocado Salad”

  1. I want to eat at your house, Cynthia! Btw, have you looked at Crescent Dragonwagon’s new Bean by Bean book? She has some nice lentil recipes in there. I grow celery like what you made your puree from… I love celery. So often overlooked.

    Reply

Thoughts?

cynthia at the sandwich life Food and Cooking, The Guys and School, The House

Curried Red Lentil Pilaf with Barramundi and Avocado Salad

I got home last night to find Ernie had done lots of weeding so we should be able to finally get my seeds and plants in this weekend. Not that we'll fit them all in. Anybody need some zinnia seeds? We sat outside and admired our dirt before Owen dragged Ernie off to shoot baskets. I went inside and puttered around the kitchen talking to Leo and trying to figure out what to make for dinner. I ended up with barramundi over curried red lentil and orzo pilaf with a salad of avocado, asparagus and onion.  Oh, and with a little celery leaf puree on top! It really needed another dash of color—if I'd had some tomatoes tossed into the sald it would have looked lovely but all in all it was pretty damn good. 

The barramundi (we got it frozen at Schnuck's…I really like it and it's supposed to be sustainable etc.) is quite thin. I cut each piece into three and dusted it with flour mixed with curry powder and salt and pepper and sauteed it quickly. My only mistake was that I should have seasoned it a little  more aggressively.  For the pilaf I sauteed an onion as long as I could stand and then added about half a cup of orzo and stirred til it started to brown a bit, added a teaspoon or two of curry powder and some red pepper flakes, stirred for a few minutes and then added an equal amount of red lentils. I added some water and let it simmer for awhile until done. I had two gorgeous avocados that were going to go if I didn't use them so I cubed them up, dumped in some leftover cooked asparagus and some thinly sliced onion that we'd soaked in water….added a bit of lemon juice, olive oil and salt and pepper.  Oh, and I had some thin celery I get from Greg….it's not thick stalks—it almost looks more like parsley.  I love it….it was getting a little tired though so I just pureed it in my food processor with a tiny bit of oil, water and salt and pepper.  It was wonderfully bright and fresh on top of it all.

My picture isn't great but it IS an honest picture.  Yes, that is what our kitchen peninsula (we can't call it an island because one side is against the wall) really looks like most of the time….stacks of plastic containers, cookbooks, some bleach wipes, a computer, metal cups, speakers, miscellaney….and my eldest son. And no, my children didn't eat this but we didn't care last night….they were hungry early so we fed them and ate ourselves later….

P1100807 _Snapseed

Oh, and on a separate note….Owen's class is visiting a park today and parents can attend. Here's the note he left on the bathroom mirror (where all important notes go) to remind him. I hope Ernie remembers to bring his 'good spirit.'

P1100809

 

5 thoughts on “Curried Red Lentil Pilaf with Barramundi and Avocado Salad”

  1. I want to eat at your house, Cynthia! Btw, have you looked at Crescent Dragonwagon’s new Bean by Bean book? She has some nice lentil recipes in there. I grow celery like what you made your puree from… I love celery. So often overlooked.

    Reply

Thoughts?

cynthia at the sandwich life Food and Cooking, The Guys and School, The House

Curried Red Lentil Pilaf with Barramundi and Avocado Salad

I got home last night to find Ernie had done lots of weeding so we should be able to finally get my seeds and plants in this weekend. Not that we'll fit them all in. Anybody need some zinnia seeds? We sat outside and admired our dirt before Owen dragged Ernie off to shoot baskets. I went inside and puttered around the kitchen talking to Leo and trying to figure out what to make for dinner. I ended up with barramundi over curried red lentil and orzo pilaf with a salad of avocado, asparagus and onion.  Oh, and with a little celery leaf puree on top! It really needed another dash of color—if I'd had some tomatoes tossed into the sald it would have looked lovely but all in all it was pretty damn good. 

The barramundi (we got it frozen at Schnuck's…I really like it and it's supposed to be sustainable etc.) is quite thin. I cut each piece into three and dusted it with flour mixed with curry powder and salt and pepper and sauteed it quickly. My only mistake was that I should have seasoned it a little  more aggressively.  For the pilaf I sauteed an onion as long as I could stand and then added about half a cup of orzo and stirred til it started to brown a bit, added a teaspoon or two of curry powder and some red pepper flakes, stirred for a few minutes and then added an equal amount of red lentils. I added some water and let it simmer for awhile until done. I had two gorgeous avocados that were going to go if I didn't use them so I cubed them up, dumped in some leftover cooked asparagus and some thinly sliced onion that we'd soaked in water….added a bit of lemon juice, olive oil and salt and pepper.  Oh, and I had some thin celery I get from Greg….it's not thick stalks—it almost looks more like parsley.  I love it….it was getting a little tired though so I just pureed it in my food processor with a tiny bit of oil, water and salt and pepper.  It was wonderfully bright and fresh on top of it all.

My picture isn't great but it IS an honest picture.  Yes, that is what our kitchen peninsula (we can't call it an island because one side is against the wall) really looks like most of the time….stacks of plastic containers, cookbooks, some bleach wipes, a computer, metal cups, speakers, miscellaney….and my eldest son. And no, my children didn't eat this but we didn't care last night….they were hungry early so we fed them and ate ourselves later….

P1100807 _Snapseed

Oh, and on a separate note….Owen's class is visiting a park today and parents can attend. Here's the note he left on the bathroom mirror (where all important notes go) to remind him. I hope Ernie remembers to bring his 'good spirit.'

P1100809

 

4 thoughts on “Curried Red Lentil Pilaf with Barramundi and Avocado Salad”

  1. I want to eat at your house, Cynthia! Btw, have you looked at Crescent Dragonwagon’s new Bean by Bean book? She has some nice lentil recipes in there. I grow celery like what you made your puree from… I love celery. So often overlooked.

    Reply

Thoughts?