Dead Stops And Coconut Curry Lentil Stew

A while back, I signed up with Groupon just to see what all the hubbub was about. Groupon is actually a really great concept: you specify the city in which you live and then the site gives you all kinds of discounted deals. There are deals on local dining, traveling, fitness, fashion, etc. as well as deals on national and international travel. 

Since I signed up, Groupon sends me daily emails highlighting their deals . . .I usually skim the email title and then click Delete. I'll let you in on a little secret: I have a hard time spending my money. I've always been a saver and the thing I prefer to spend my money on is travel, however, the other week, one of the Groupon emails made me come to a Dead stop (pun intended). 

Hint:

I was going through my mail from the day, checking off a bunch of spam to delete when I saw "Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra: "Music of the Grateful Dead." I stopped clicking, my heart all a flutter. Jon and I wanted to go to this show when they first announced it, but the seats were just too expensive. We had settled to let this pass to save some cash, but now Groupon was offering a sweet deal - I was all over it.

WooHoo! So, that's where we'll be tomorrow!

Now for another something I did a few weeks ago . . .

Creamy Coconut Curry Lentil Stew

You'll need:

4 cups vegetable broth + 2T reserve

2/3 can of lite coconut milk

1 small-medium butternut squash, peeled, cubed

1.5 cups uncooked green lentils

1/4 sweet onion, finely chopped

1.5 cloves of garlic, finely sliced

1.5 T curry powder

1/2 t salt

1/2 t pepper

To make:

1. In a large soup pot, satue the onion and garlic using the 2T of broth.

2. Add squash, broth, curry, salt, and pepper. Cover, increase heat, and bring to a boil. Once mixture reaches a boil, reduce to low heat, keep covered, and cook until squash is tender, stirring occasionally.

3. Once squash is tender, mash (carefully!) in pot. Mash thoroughly so the "creamy" texture is achieved.

4. Add the coconut milk and lentils. Mix.

5. Let the pot cook covered on low heat until lentils become tender.

6. Once lentils are tender, stew is done!

This stew is a little sweet, a little spicy, and a lot savory. And, to tell you the truth, it actually tastes better the next day once the flavors have a chance to settle. I recommend making this the day before you actually plan to eat it as your meal.