hearty Tunisian tomato stew

A few months back, Mary gave me some cookbooks, including Mollie Katzen's Vegetable Heaven. The recipes are heavenly, healthful and sinfully simple.
Last night, with a nearly empty pantry and fridge, I had to make do. I realized that I haven't been eating lentils much lately, so I searched the cookbook and found a recipe in Vegetable Heaven for Tunisian tomato soup with lentils and chickpeas. Sadly, I didn't even have tomatoes, so Fred had to stop and buy some on his way over. One heaping ladleful and we were both full. We're having leftovers for lunch and likely for a quick dinner or tomorrow's lunch. The recipe yielded six hearty portions of a stewlike soup!
Here's the modified recipe:
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 cup lentils, rinsed (I soaked them with the spices this morning because I realized I didn't have tomatoes and couldn't cook the soup!)
1 28-ounce can tomatoes (crushed or diced)
1 green onion, chopped (recipe calls for 4 cups minced onion. Again, I was out of this! My pantry is so sad!)
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon turmeric
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon cinnamon
salt and pepper to taste, plus a few healthy shakes of red pepper flakes
handful cilantro, chopped
1 teaspoon olive oil
Heat oil over medium heat and add garlic and onion. Cook two minutes, then add the lentils (which have had been soaking with the spices). Add water to cover, then add tomatoes and chickpeas. Simmer 10 minutes, then season with salt and pepper. Serve with cilantro.
I think we've been in a bit of a rut lately. We've been eating a lot of tofu and kimchi, and black beans and rice. Fred actually said last night that he's craving broccoli rabe. We found a few more recipes that we want to try soon: kale crisps (a snack food), spinach soup with basil and dill, sweet potato and pea patties, Tuscan bean and pasta stew... Though it doesn't feel like winter today, my stomach is ready for winter foods.
I also found a recipe for avocado-chocolate pie. I think I'll try it this weekend. Avocado-chocolate "milk"shakes are pretty good, so I hope I'll like this!

(No) Turkey Day

So for about the 10th consecutive year, I'm about to have a turkey-free Thanksgiving. I've made a Tofurkey for the past several years but I'm skipping it this Thanksgiving because no one else in my family will help me eat it, and because I won't be at my parents' house long enough to enjoy the leftovers. I'm basically planning to load up on side dishes, which I tend to do anyway, and I think my mother also may have picked up some vegetarian chicken drumsticks of some sort. Anyway, I'm curious: What are any of you other vegetarians having for your main dish? My co-worker Rachel just alerted me to what seems to be a new place in Madisonville called Five Star Foodies (the Web site's still under construction) that sells vegetarian turkey rolls and gravy, which might be worth checking out at some point. I'd love to hear your ideas (if not for this year, maybe next year...)

Sexiest vegetarians

Yay! Veggies are sexy!
From the Associated Press:
NEW YORK – Carrie Underwood and Kevin Eubanks have been named the "world’s sexiest vegetarians" in PETA’s annual contest.
Results were released Tuesday by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
Underwood, 24, a Grammy-winning country singer, won the title in 2005. Eubanks, 49, leader of NBC’s "Tonight Show" band, is a newcomer to the winner’s circle.
Eubanks leapt ahead of his competitors with help from Jay Leno, who encouraged viewers to vote for Eubanks and “bring honor” to the late-night NBC talk show.
"I’m gonna keep this campaign going," Leno said during a recent show after sharing a photo of a shirtless Eubanks with his audience. Leno said the shot, in which Eubanks is holding a backpack and posing against a woodsy backdrop, wasn’t doctored.
Runners-up in the contest, which the animal rights group said drew more than 110,000 votes on its Web site, included Joaquin Phoenix, Milo Ventimiglia, Kristen Bell, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jared Leto and Lisa Edelstein.
Last year, Prince and Bell, who starred on the "Veronica Mars" TV series, were picked as the two sexiest vegetarians. Previous winners also include Natalie Portman, Andre 3000, Coldplay’s Chris Martin, Shania Twain, Tobey Maguire, Lauren Bush, Josh Hartnett and Alicia Silverstone.
Wonder who else is a vegetarian?