World Vegetarian Day - October 1st

Did you know that today is World Vegetarian Day?

World Vegetarian Day, October 1, is the annual kick-off of Vegetarian Awareness Month. It is a day of celebration established by the North American Vegetarian Society in 1977 and endorsed by the International Vegetarian Union in 1978, "To promote the joy, compassion and life-enhancing possibilities of vegetarianism."

World Vegetarian Day is here to encourage you in a new way of living. Personally, I like my steak but why not give it a try. To celebrate this occasion I will be serving a veggie dish to my family tonight.

Here is Lisa's stewed lentil dish. You'll find this and many more recipes on my Expat with Kids recipe blog: http://expatwithkidsrecipes.blogspot.com/

Lisa's stewed lentils

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
2 cups large diced yellow onions (2 onions)
2 cups large diced carrots (3-4 carrots)
3 garlic cloves , minced (about 1 tbls.)
1 (28 ounce) can plum tomatoes
1 cup french green lentil (7 ounces)
2 cups vegetable stock (or chicken stock)
2 teaspoons mild curry powder
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves , chopped
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 tablespoon good quality red wine vinegar

Preparations:
1. )  Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onions and carrots and cook over medium low heat for 8-10 minutes, until the onions start to brown. Stir occasionally with a wooden spoon. Add the garlic and cook 1 more minute. Be careful not to burn the garlic.

2.)  Meanwhile, place the canned tomatoes, including the juice, in the bowl of a food processor and pulse several times until the tomatoes are coarsely chopped. Rinse and pick over the lentils to make sure there are no stones.

3.) Add the tomatoes, lentils, broth, curry powder, thyme, salt, and pepper to the pan. Raise the heat to bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer covered for about 40 minutes, until the lentils are tender. Check occasionally to be sure the liquid is still simmering.

4.) Remove from the heat and allow the lentils to sit covered for another 10 minutes. Add the vinegar. Season to taste and serve hot. Enjoy!