Dilled Rice and Lentils with Creamy Cucumber Salad

This is one of those recipes that's been folded in half twice, is stained with drips and drops and splashes, and pleases us every single time (well almost, don't substitute vanilla yogurt AND use green lentils, not red).  Maybe it's the notes in the margins that make repeat recipes like this so much fun!

Creamy Cucumber Salad Ingedients:

8 oz plain yogurt

1 Tablespoon tahini

4 oz crumbled feta

1 red onion or a few small red onions, chopped

2 tomatoes, chopped 

1 cucumber, sliced

salt and pepper

mint leaves

Directions: Mix the yogurt and tahini until smooth.  Stir in feta, red onion, cucumber and then tomato.  Salt and pepper to taste.  (If you are making ahead, wait to add the tomato at the end.)  Serve over the warm dilled rice and lentils.  Use the mint leaves for garnish. 

Dilled Rice and Lentils Ingredients:

Olive oil

1 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 cup green lentils

1 cup white rice

4 cups chicken or vegetable stock*

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon dill, chopped

Directions: Saute onion and garlic in oil until transparent.  Stir in lentils and add stock.  Bring to boil, then cover, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.  Add rice adn simmer for another 20 minutes.  Stir in soy sauce, vinegar and dill.

*Vegetable Stock.  It is so easy to make vegetable stock this time of year.  Simply fill a stock pot 3/4 full of water and throw in your "scraps."  Today we added the tops of three leeks, an onion, a couple cloves of garlic, about 6 carrots, celery leaves, dill seed, and peppercorns.  Just make sure your veggies are well washed and that you crush, tear, chop.  Bring to boil and return to simmer for at least a couple hours.   

This recipe has been modified from a recipe pulled from a Whole Foods e-mail in 2003 or 2004.