Lentils a la Pantry

This is great non-food! Every so often I get busy with art projects or just life distracts me from going shopping and all of a sudden it's 12:30 at night and not only do I need protein, but an actual protein-ish meal (and preferably one that I can whip together faster than you can say "just make peanut butter toast, girl!"). At least, that happened one time, and I happened to have a can of lentils around (which I don't even usually have, lucky night!), and I realized I had NO fresh produce, except an onion and some garlic, if you count that as fresh produce which I don't... ANYWAY, this tastes really really really good! Cheap as a button, ready in 5 minutes, savory and filling, good to eat while watching the Colbert Report and making mental grocery lists filled with green leafy vegetables. I'm sure you could all whip up something similar in your sleep, but hey, here it is.

Lentils a la Pantry

1 can of lentils, drained and rinsed
4-5 large roasted cashews (almonds would be good too, I bet)
2-3 tbsp tamari
1 tsp ginger, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp dried red chile flakes
1 tsp maple syrup
a drizzle of sesame oil
1/4 cup onion, diced fine
1 tbsp dried wakame seaweed
1-2 tbsp dried shitake mushrooms (soaked in a bit of hot water with a splash of tamari, then diced)

1. grind the cashews into a rough paste in a mortar and pestle or food processor (or, just chop them really really fine), and whisk in a bowl with the tamari, ginger, garlic, syrup, and oil.
2. toss together with the onion, wakame, shitake, and lentils, let it marinate in the fridge for an hour (optional, for non-starving people) and serve.

(I like raw onion and garlic, but you could definitely saute them a bit for a warmer kind of salad)

(this recipe would also benefit from sprouts, shredded carrots, some radish, snow pea, etc, if you've got it. But then it wouldn't be a la Pantry. ;)