lentil casserole

Hello everyone

Well day 4 is going better. I did not take the steroids prior to this last treatment, as I thought since I had been through 4 without a reaction I did not need them. I did not have a reaction, but I had thought that the steroids were causing some of the gastrointestinal problems. Turns out, perhaps they were helping.  So took some yesterday and felt a lot better.

The other thing about the first few days after chemo is that I have insatiable appetite for protein. On Thursday night I went to a book club evening, and surveyed the food present and decided that chicken was it.......and then went on to eat the entire plate of chicken wings.  (ever heard of moderation?) (did I mention I was a vegetarian for the most part?)

Well I got a ride to the hospital ( I do not drive for the first few days after chemo because of some of the drugs I am taking, and I stay at the hospital in our camper van with Ken and the dogs when Ken is working in the ER), and had the most horrible night, heartburn, abdominal cramping and pain....and I thought back to the book club, the part where I said "I know I am going to regret this".

I wonder if by my 6th cycle of chemo I will have learned "moderation".

Last night I made a casserole and though I ate it all evening, I did it slowly, and it seemed to go down much better, so I decided to share it with you because it was so good.

The cool thing about this recipe is that you just dump everything in the pot and then put it in the oven. The other cool thing is that you can dump in whatever vegetables happen to be ready in your garden, or might soon be going bad in your fridge. I will include what I put in but feel free to "experiment"

Easy Lentil and Rice casserole.

2 2/3 cups of vegetable stock

3/4 cup of dry lentils

1/2 cup of brown rice

3/4 cup of celery (they suggest onions, but can't do onions now)

1/4 cup of white wine (sometimes I use red)

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp basil, (I used a half cup of fresh basil From My Garden FMG)

1/4 tsp thyme ( I used 1/4 cup FMG)

1/4 tsp oregano(I used 1/4 cup FMG)

5 cloves of garlic

pepper

Here is where I got creative

2 cups cremini mushrooms chopped

one small zucchini (FMG)chopped

one red pepper chopped

usually I add grated parmesiano reggiano cheese, but seem to be intolerant of 

cheese right now, but it tasted great with out it

So you basically dump all of those things in a big pot in the oven, with a lid, and cook at 375 for an hour and a half.....or a bit longer

Great recipe for using whats in the garden, or whats in the fridge. I would have also put in peas, but am fresh out and on the way to the market in old town this morning to get more peas.

Peace and love

Janet Bates

jankenb @ gmail.com