Fruity French Lentils

I have been away on a vacation....I know I have been neglecting my blog, but thats all over now. I was so excited to come home and cook some of my own food. Its not easy getting good vegan food in strange little towns like Gilroy and Prunedale. We were also in Santa Cruz and it was a paradise of good vegan food. I grew up there and was excited to eat at some of my favorite places, nothing is as good as home though! The first meal I made when I came home last night was a dish I found in "The Kind Life". Its called fruity french lentils.

1 cup lentils
2 cups water
1 inch piece of kombu
pinch of sea salt
1 tablespoon strawberry fruit spread
3 tablespoons orange juice
1 cup chopped strawberries
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/8 cup chopped basil


Wash and rinse the lentils then bring them to a simmer for about 30 minutes. I added kombu and a little sea salt to the water.
Then rinse the lentils and rinse them with cool water. In another bowl mix together a half cup of chopped walnuts, about a cup of chopped strawberries a bit of minced basil, and some parsley if you like it-we don't love the stuff so I omitted that part. Mix the lentils into the bowl. Combine a tablespoon of strawberry fruit spread and three tablespoons orange juice. After you have mixed the OJ with the jam pour over the lentils. It is so simple and so GOOD! I also cooked up some bok choy with garlic, ginger and toasted sesame oil. To finish off the meal I made some good ole fashioned pesto and topped some Miltons crackers with that! The pesto is not so much a recipe, I just combine a few bunches of basil, some walnuts and pecans, a lot of garlic and some olive oil in the cuisinart until the mixture resembles pesto consistency.