In the Beginning

There was a recipe. A very good, plain recipe to nourish the body and mind.

Lentils, Monastery Style
(Adapted from Diet for a Small Planet, by Frances Moore Lappé)

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 Swiss cheese

Saute onions and carrots in olive oil until onions are translucent. Add herbs and stir, then add lentils and tomatoes, and cook 45 minutes or so, until lentils are tender. Add parsley and cook another 5 minutes. Add sherry at last minute. Serve in bowls, over a generous pinch of Swiss cheese, or put grated Swiss on top. Good with corn bread or a nice sourdough.