For the first time in my cooking life, I'm finding it hard to cook good food for myself. The accumulation of sleep deprivation over the past 8 months means that now, when Hugo goes to bed and I've finally got a few minutes to myself in the evening, I collapse on the couch and wish someone would just bring me a cold beer and a bag of potato chips for dinner. After a few comatose moments, I'm usually able to drag myself into the kitchen to fix a cheese sandwich and a bowl of yogurt for dinner, but my vegetable consumption has been pathetic lately. It's not like there isn't anything in the house – I buy plenty of vegetables to experiment with for Hugo – it's just that I'm all out of beans at night, when it's time for me. And these dark winter days mean that I need more than just a bowl of steamed broccoli to make me feel good.
But the other day, the nice people at Clarkson Potter sent me a copy of the latest Martha Stewart Living cookbook, Meatless, and suddenly things are looking a lot brighter over here. First, there were roasted cubes of celery root and onion tossed with boiled lentils and dressed with nothing but lemon juice and olive oil. I would never have thought to combine celery root and lentils, but the combination was delicious. I prepped everything while Hugo was hanging out with me in the kitchen; then, when he'd gone down for his nap, all I had to do was toss it together before digging in. It was so full of flavor and so filling. This is my new favorite lunch, I proclaimed to myself. (The original recipe has you add parsley, but I used some za'atar, since I have an industrial quantity of it, and it was amazing.)
Then I got distracted by a soup that has you roast eggplant and chickpeas in one pan together (so easy!), before mashing them together with some broth and garlic and onion, finishing each bowl off with oregano and a dollop of yogurt. There was fried rice made with leftover brown rice (I finally cracked the perfect brown rice code in my rice cooker!) and shiitakes, and crisp little patties made out of mashed white beans that I ate with tomato sauce and basically, what I'm trying to tell you is this book is so full of inspiration and good food that I haven't really come up for air since.
Happily, Potter was kind enough to send a second copy along for a giveaway! So, for a chance to win a copy of Meatless, please leave a comment below and I'll pick a winner at random tomorrow. Good luck!
Update: Martha is the winner and has been emailed. Thank you all for participating – comments are now closed.
Lentils with Caramelized Celery Root
Adapted from Meatless
2 cups water
3/4 cup green or brown lentils
1-2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
1 celery root, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
1 onion, chopped
Lemon juice to taste
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Za'atar, to taste
1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Bring the water and lentils to a boil in a medium saucepan. Reduce heat and simmer gently, partially covered, until lentils are just tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and transfer to a bowl.
2. Toss the celery root and onion with the 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil and salt to taste and put in a roasting pan. Cook in the oven for 20-30 minutes, until caramelized.
3. Add the celery root and onion to the bowl with the lentils. Stir in the lemon juice, salt and pepper, za'atar and remaining olive oil to taste. Serve.
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472 responses to “Tuesday Giveaway!”
Great story, and an inspiration! I’ve found it increasingly difficult in cooking healthy but satisfying meals for my 5 month pregnant wife, I bet this book could help a lot.
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Lovely! A vegetarian cookbook sounds great.
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I would love a copy!
I am 2/3 through your book and am enjoying your blog so much more now I know the full story. I started reading here about a year or so ago. I, too, have folders full of clippings. None of my friends or family do this, so it’s great to know great minds (not mad!) think alike.
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please post the eggplant chickpea soup recipe. sounds divine!
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Don’t usually bother entering giveaways but book looks fabulous so figured might as well throw my hat in the ring! Love how creative veggie recipes are. Salad sounds delicious.
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Sounds lovely. I understand the limited motivation, and glad you found some inspiration!
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Sounds like a great book! Pick me!
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I, too, have massive quantities of zaatar. It’s one of those spices like garam masala that I adore so insistently that I blow through jars of it after two or three meals.
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Yum and thanks!
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That recipe sounds delicious, as do the others. I’ve never had celery root, but I do have za’atar in my spice drawer.
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I would love this book! All of the recipes you describe sound absolutely delectable!
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I also need more veggies in my life (say I, as I eat my bean and cheese burrito. At least I threw in a little corn and some green chiles…).
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Wow, I think I need this book! I try to eat healthy in spite of the little one, but new, simple and mom-friendly recepies are more than welcome.
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To a certain extent, I can relate to your exhaustion; I may not have a baby, but I have both a puppy and a dissertation and sometimes I just want dinner to magically appear before me….It’s always nice to have an excuse to cook vegetables, though, and this cookbook looks like just the thing to pull one out of the sleep-deprivation/winter/overworked doldrums. And I’ll never pass up a chance to make leeks.
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inspiration and vegetables – together?! i’m sold!
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That recipe looks delicious! I’d love a meatless cookbook too!
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Ohh, the bean patties sound intriguing. I’d love a chance at a copy of this!
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Always on a quest to add more exciting meatless meals…this sounds like a great way to do it!
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I would love this book! I love meatless Mondays, but could use some new, flavorful ideas!
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Yum! Those recipes all sound delicious.
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This book looks great!
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This sounds wonderful! Pregnancy has really driven me away from meat for some reason, and I am always looking for meatless recipes! Thanks!!
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Excited! Especially at the thought of lentils and celery root tasting amazing. The shock! The delight! The oddity! Thanks at the very least for opening up this world to me.
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this looks like what we need around here right now – we love meat, but need more ideas for the 2+ times a week we eat meatless. Awesome!
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Hey Luisa! It is hard finding time to eat healthy when there’s so much crazy stuff going on…stay strong and don’t give up! This book looks like it has recipes that can be used to make healthier meals! I will check it out for sure! Thanks for the giveaway! 🙂
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Sounds like just my kind of weeknight cookbook… thanks, Louisa!!
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Lentils and celery root are two of my favourite things! Yum!
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I cant wait to try it! And Luisa I feel your pain. Maybe you can try freezing some so that you can just heat it up when you need to just wind down?
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Yum! thanks for the chance.
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Reading your book now, this is my first visit to your blog!
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I loooove vegetarian dishes and especially experimenting while cooking veggies. There are endless possibilities and that’s the beauty of it:) So one more cookery book with meatless recipes is always a great thing.
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I remember when my son was young and I would be too tired to cook. Now he asks me to help him with his algebra while I’m preparing dinner. The years fly by so quickly.
My husband and I would like to eat more vegetarian meals, but I just haven’t found the right cookbook to inspire me. I’ve borrowed Mark Bittman’s “How to Cook Everything Vegetarian”, which I thought would do the trick, but I found that to be lackluster too (and I usually love Bittman’s recipes–try his pernil recipe from the NY Times the next time you want to impress your dinner party guests). But roasted eggplant and chickpeas sounds great–this might be the book for me.
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The cookbook sounds so inspiring…just what I need to perk up my winter menus. Thanks for the give-a-way.
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It looks like a great book. I’m trying to cook meatless meals during the week in an effort to get everyone in the family, especially the kids, to eat more veggies, so this book would come in handy.
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Oops! just noticed my email address was incorrect. I left the comment above. Sorry!!
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I’d never thought about celery root and lentils as a likely combination either Luisa, but then again I had never made braised leeks -before reading your book meant I had to have them- thank you for always providing a steady stream of inspiration!
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I have been eating less meat/more veg for a few years now, and could always do with more inspiration on the veg front – particularly as I’m now six months pregnant and trying to make sure I pack in as many vegetables as I can to counterbalance all the chocolate I now seem to be craving!
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Trying to eat more meat-free meals…this would be a huge help!
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Yum! I, too, have been running out of inspiration in the kitchen. This cookbook would be perfect! Thanks for sharing!
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this recipe sounds delicious – i’ll have to try it for sure regardless!
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Looks delicious. I once made Ottolenghi’s roasted celery root and lentil salad with hazelnuts so I bet this was just as good. Celery root was a great discovery. 🙂
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I’m not a vegetarian, but I am hoping to tone down the amount of meat consumed in my house! This looks wonderful!
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Just what we need to liven up our meals in the snowy, cold, dreary midwest! And, Hugo is adorable. Lucky boy to have such healthy vegetables cooked for him.
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I just finished reading your book – loved it! Saw Martha S. today on The Chew plugging her book. I’d really like a copy.
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That soup looks delicious and I am always looking for new recipes!
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Vegetable inspiration is just what I need. These recipes sound delicious!
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New Year’s resolution #1: eat less meat. Since I don’t like vegetables much, it’s a toughie. But I’m determined.
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Mmm, I love eggplant! Not as much as I love 8 full hours of sleep, though. That sleep deprivation is so hard… And then it becomes a way of life. And then, the miracle happens! You will get there, my dear. And it’s worth it.
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I am a born again vegetarian and this cookbook sounds like a perfect introduction to delicious vegetarian recipes :-)!!
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I would love to have more great veggie recipes to make for my veggie friends!
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