2 Tbsp olive oil
2 large onions, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
½ teaspoon thyme
½ teaspoon marjoram
3 cups seasoned stock
1 cup lentils, rinsed
Salt to taste (if using cooking sherry and/or store-bought stock, add salt at table if desired)
¼ cup fresh chopped flat (Italian) parsley
14oz can diced tomatoes
¼ cup dry sherry
⅔ cup grated vegan cheddar or no cheese at all. Nooch!

I don’t remember when I found this book, but it was a staple for a long, long time when I knew I’d become a vegetarian one day, but not today.

Cooking should be a pleasure and delight, so if you have a lot of other things begging for your attention it should also be SIMPLE. This is simple, and it gives you much satisfaction if you take it slow and easy. Crush the herbs between your palms and watch them drop into the sauteed onions and carrots. Smell the change in fragrance. Take it easy. Love your food.

I have since become vegan, then admitted I am actually a plant-based eater. Meaning I will eat eggs when I know the chickens are living a good life. And I eat cheese sometimes and pay for it. But mostly plant-based and equitable about that. Meaning I try to not judge. Life is, after all, a business of killing and eating. Just how much you can consciously live with is the question I guess.