The effect it had on me . . .
It was like, my mind went completely numb.
My throat closed in.
My racing heart came to an abrupt halt, and then forgot how to beat for a good 20 seconds.
My eyes froze, cried a tiny river, and then found their new happy place.
My jaw fell a good 17 inches below my face, and a little bit of drool puddled right in front of my lower teeth.
I felt alive. Fresh. Like a blooming teenager. Wind in my sails. Butterflies in my stomach. Chill bumps down my spinal cord. 32 flavors and then some.
What? No I’m not talking about this lentil salad, ya silly boob. I’m talking about the end of New Girl last night, heeeeeeeeeey. ohhhhhhhhh, it is hot.in.heeeeeere. (p.s. there are NO spoilers at all in this post.)
Wait, did you think I had some weirdo psycho lust over this salad? LIKE I’VE EVER BEEN LIKE THAT BEFO – actually, never mind.
Well I mean this salad is pretty sexy. Pungent, crisp blasts of fresh herbs that dance in your mouth. Silky strips of roasted peppers that caress the tongue.
The surprising crunch of lightly toasted almonds. The unexpected turn of events when you find yourself breathless and hungry in the arms of what used to be an innocent yet playfu – DANGIT there I go again.
I’m trying to decide if I should tell you how many times I watched last night’s delicious clip before 6am. But before I make that decision, see what I did with these photos? Eh? Eh? Before tossing on the left, and then the after tossing on the right? Like one big ole bowl? Eeeeh?
Oh.
And I made the decision. I’m not going to tell you. But I WILL say it’s between 1 and 57. Okay 1+57. Times 2. Minus the 3rd participle. And into the 4th dimension.
You know what this math party needs? Lentil salad. If I do say so myself.
lllllllentil salad.
Eat it as a side dish. Eat it as a main. Eat it on a roller coaster, or on a windowpane. Eat it in your car. Eat it in your house. Eat it standing upside down, just don’t get it on your blouse.
That was my rhyme for you.
Let’s eat this mess before I make you watch the clip again with me.
Lentil Salad with Roasted Red Peppers, Parsley and Almonds:
What it took for 4 (as a main) and 6 (as a side):
* 2 cups uncooked green lentils
* 2 roasted red pepper, sliced into small strips
* 1 cup chopped parsley
* 1 cup roughly chopped almonds
* 2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive
* juice from half a lemon (or more!)
* 1 tsp cardamom
* salt and pepper to taste
Cook the lentils in boiling water until al dente, probably 30 minutes. Drain and transfer to a large bowl.
To the bowl, add, well, the rest. Toss toss toss and taste it. Need some salt? Maybe. Need more lemon? Sure. Need your face in it? Definitely.
I like it when you call me a boob.
And I like it when you make lentils.
Is this the best day ever? I think so.
This salad is totes sexy and so are you!
I want 5,000 bowls of this!
How did you know that I need more lentils in my life?
Utterly delicious… I just tried it out
OK, I had to stop reading through the post and skip down to the recipe because I haven’t watched last night’s New Girl yet!
Salad looks amazing though. And the best part is I have everything already sitting at home, just waiting for me to put it together. Think I’ll have to make it tonight WHILE I watch New Girl. It just seems right.
Oh I never give anything away! No spoilers at all, but enjoy watching tonight.
Sooooooooooo let’s just talk about how I DIDN’T GET TO SEE NEW GIRL LAST NIGHT!!!!! because of the dumb storms going through LR. Super sad night…
Holy jeebus, you have me so titillated for New Girl. (Um…) It’s on the docket for tonight’s Hulu session. I hope it’s what I think it is. Also, this could totally be exclusive to me or Chrome, but your RSS link is producing an error message at the moment. No worries, for now I’m subscribed to email, but I’d love to add you to my reader.
Thanks!
I totally felt the SAME way about New Girl. swear.
Ok so, I originally was totally into the recipe because I love lentils. But then I read your teasers about New Girl. I literally put down my laptop and pressed play on my recording from last night. PS This was all about a half an hour ago! Hahahah! Oh wow! That was hottttttttttttt! I think my mouth is still hanging wide open, yep it is. I am so curious to see where this goes next.
Can you believe I’ve never watched New Girl? What is wrong with me?!?!?!
This soup. Amaze. Especially since it’s negative a trillion degrees today.
I appreciate that you don’t write spoilers on here! I still need to watch the last few episodes….
Loving this salad. I love perfectly cooked lentils and yours are just that, Bev!
Your poem made my day.
I’m drooooooling!
That is one sexy beast of a salad. Salad me, please.
Yum. This looks abouuuut 20x more appetizing than every lentil salad I’ve ever made.
Lentils are so filling and so good, got to try this.
I love lentils, usually with bacon of course but this looks mighty fine. I need to get New Girl back on the DVR to watch when the guys are gone.
Oh FINALLY I found someone else who watched that episode – shhhh, I kinda listened (watched) to it on my phone at work like it was story time all while printing 51,236 documents today. Hulu Plus and wifi on the mobiles is such a fantastic thing. I just had to remember that I was actually IN my office and couldn’t jump for joy repeatedly when THE MOMENT happened.
And this is something else I would jump for joy over – because lentils, duh.
NEW GIRL….Ahhhhhh. I was dying.
And your salad. I need this one.
New Girl has become a thing in my house…even for my boyfriend, which speaks words because he pretty much can’t stand TV or movies but he loves himself some Zoey Dechanel! Your lentils look freaking fabulous and I love the added texture of the almonds. Rock it, sister!
Mmm this looks so delicious!
Oh woah. Lentils are one of my very favorite foods. Ever. It’s weird, I know. Can’t wait to try this! Thanks Bev!
Such a nice recipe to use as a base to make many different salads! i didnt use the cardamom or parsley and instead added fresh cilantro and some red onion and did a lemon/lime juice mixture! What a great lunch!