Thayer in the Kitchen

This is a recipe I made when I was getting a bunch of cucumbers from my CSA farm.  I liked it because it was easy and incorporated cucumbers in a cooked dish.  Arthur liked it and said I should make it again.  It is gluten and dairy free. 1/4# or 50 g of masoor dal (red lentils) 1-1/4 cups coconut milk (I just used the whole can) 500 g or 1# of cucumbers, no need to peel if they're organic.  Cut in half, remove seeds and cut into crosswise slices 2-4 fresh green chilies, cut in half lengthwise (I used 2 and removed the seeds since Arthur is not a big fan of dishes that are too spicy) Salt to taste For tadka ( A Tadka is a ghee   or oil based spice mix added to a curry at the end of the cooking. It adds a wondrous taste to the dish, so do not skip this step) 8-10 curry leaves 2 teaspoons black mustard seeds 1 tablespoon ghee or coconut oil Wash the lentils.  Pour 1/2 c. of the coconut milk and 1-1/2 cups water.  Add the lenti...

I love lentil soup but I especially enjoyed this recipe which I believe came from the book, The Best Life Recipes. I found the recipe tucked away in my recipe files and decided to make it. Of course it got altered along the way. 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 cup chopped onion 2/3 - 1 cup chopped carrot 1 pepper, red or green 4 cloves garlic, finely minced 2-3 slices bacon, cooked and then crumbled 1 1/2 cups dried lentils 5 cups chicken broth 1# can crushed or chopped tomatoes 1 dried hot pepper (optional) 3 sage leaves, finely chopped or 1 teaspoon dry rubbed sage if the fresh isn't available (which it wasn't for me) 2 large fresh thyme springs, finely chopped or 1/2 teaspoon dry thyme leaves (I used dry) 2 large rosemary springs, you could also substitute dry rosemary--maybe about 1/2 teaspoon. I used fresh Salt and pepper to taste 2 tablespoons or more chopped fresh cilantro Fry bacon until crisp. Remove most of the drippings, add the olive oil and saute oni...