Creamy Puy lentils

Luxurious way with lentils. We ate this with chunks of squash roasted with herbs and orange zest. Horatio said it would have been nicer with chicken, but he's a well-known lentil hater.

200g Puy lentils
1 finely chopped onion
1 clove finely chopped garlic
juice of an orange
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2-3 tbsp creme fraiche

Cook the lentils (about 20-30 minutes, depending on their age). Drain, but keep the water, which will be thick and black.

At the same time, fry the onion until it is soft, then add the garlic and keep cooking for five more minutes. Add the orange juice, vinegar, creme fraiche and a little blackwater (start with 1-2 tbsp). Warm through, then add the lentils. Taste and season.

Too disgusting to eat

... too much sugar. Pity.

Baked beans

According to the back of the tin of baked beans I've just eaten for breakfast, the British eat more baked beans than any other nation at an average of 15lb per head per year. And most of them, judging by supermarket shelf space, are either Heinz or own-brand. Both of which are, to my taste, too salty. Now, at 57p a can, I've discovered the most delicious alternative: open the can and you can smell the cinnamon, the cloves, the nutmeg - you don't get that with Heinz (65p).

Here's the complete list of ingredients for Whole Earth Organic Baked Beans:

organic haricot beans (49%), water, organic tomatoes (13%), organic apple juice, organic rice flour, sea salt, organic cider vinegar, organic onion powder, organic ground cinnamon, organic dill, organic garlic powder, ocean kelp, organic nutmeg, organic cloves, organic cayenne pepper, organic tamari soya sauce (water, organic soya beans, sea salt).

Doesn't that sound good? A bargain, too.


PS re-reading this, I'm amazed at that average figure: I eat the most baked beans in this household, at about four tins a year - there must be people on a tin a day.