What do you do when you have insomnia? Well, usually, I lay in bed and pontificate. You know, ponder life’s big questions. This am, my mind floated into a stream of consciousness on the blooming white Magnolia trees all over DC this time of the year. A mark that hot, sticky weather is here to stay for awhile. A reminder of a time when this area was flooded with these majestic trunks, massive leaves, and statuesque blooms.

Billie Holiday’s Strange Fruit playing in my head (I know, a little dark), I soon resisted the urge to lay in bed any longer. I reframed. Maybe I was like Bill Clinton and Margaret Thatcher and Vincent Van Gogh and Madonna. Maybe I was like Abraham Lincoln and Edison and Newton and Teddy Roosevelt and Shakespeare and Dickens. Rather than resist the unrest, I surrendered to it.

Maybe I’m a creative genius that just need less sleep? 😀 Or maybe I’ll actually be paying for this in a few hours, tickling my tummy in meetings to stay away like Napoleon did many moons ago? Only time will tell. But what I do know is that when I have blog drafts in the queue, I want to share–like, immediately!

And now, at 4:26am, share I do. This colorful, summer salad highlights my complete and utter weakness for the bulk foods section at the grocery store. It’s experimentation without the full commitment, or in other words, pure bliss ;). I had never had (or even heard of) ivory lentils, but they were pretty, so I picked them up. Originally, I thought of making a soup with them, but then I thought a salad would be more fun. When you cook them up, they turn more yellow than ivory, but hey, I’m not complaining! They were gentle in texture and totally soaked up the flavors in this salad. And because this salad doesn’t contain any mayo (or mayo alternatives), it’s great for taking to a picnic or BBQ. Try it! And feel free to experiment with your legume and veggies of choice! Happy Weekend folks and hopefully next time I write, it’ll be after a full night’s sleep! 😀

Ivory Lentils Salad

(Printable Recipe)

Lentils Ingredients:

1. 1 cup ivory lentils
2. ¼ onion
3. 2 cloves garlic
4. 1 carrot—cut in half
5. 1 bay leaf
6. 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
7. ½ teaspoon dried thyme
8. ~2 cups vegetable broth

Lentils Method:

*Add ingredients to a medium pot. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to med-low. Simmer ~20 minutes until lentils are tender (not mushy). Stir occasionally. Once lentils are tender, drain and rinse with cold water. Discard bay leaf, onion, carrot and garlic. Set aside.

Salad Ingredients:

1. Cooked ivory lentils (see above)
2. 2 carrots—peeled and chopped
3. 1 cup grape tomatoes—cut in half
4. 2 tablespoons olive oil
5. 2 teaspoons Braggs liquid amino (or soy sauce)
6. 4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
7. 1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar (or red wine vinegar)
8. 1 tablespoon orange juice
9. salt and black pepper to taste, fresh parsley

Salad Method:

*Add cooked lentils, carrots, and grape tomatoes to a large bowl.

*In a separate bowl, whisk oil, Braggs, vinegars, and juice. Add dressing to lentils. Stir. Add parsley. Adjust seasoning. Let sit at least 1 hour before serving. Serve room temperature. Enjoy!