Lentejas con Jengibre (Lentils with Ginger)

It's been a bit chilly the last few days so it seemed like a perfect opportunity to make a pot of lentils. In Spanish they are called Lentejas and where I live, they are a common dish. The prep work is simple and you just cook them until they are soft.

 

In a large sauce pan, add one bag of lentils, 1 can/package of tomato paste, 3 chicken boullion cubes, tablespoon of salt, teaspoon of black pepper, 1 tablespoon of cumin and water about an inch above the lentils (you may need to add more later). Bring to a boil and reduce to a high simmer.

I use a mini processor to make life easier, but the following can also be done with a knife and cutting board. Chop/dice/process your veggies however you like them. 6 strips of bacon, half clove of garlic, 1 small onion, 5 culantro leaves, 1 small carrot, 1 small bell pepper and fresh ginger about the size of a marble. Adjust the quantities to your liking, you can also add celery, curry, coconut milk or other yummy flavors, I normally work with what we have on hand so the recipe changes from time to time.

Add all of your chopped ingredients into the pot with the lentils, stir it together and top with a lid. Check on the lentils every 10 minutes or so to make sure there is enough water and to not overcook them. Cook until the lentils are soft and then they are ready to serve alone or over rice. We will be having ours with the customary Costa Rican staples of rice, beans and a boiled green banana.

Notes: Culantro can be found in your local latin grocery store, if not, you can substitute with the fluffy cilantro that looks like parsley. As mentioned, this recipe changes based on what's on hand, sometimes we have a little bit of cabbage, so I slice it thin and add it to the pot. If we have very ripe tomatoes that need to be consumed, I will throw them in the blender and use them instead of tomato paste, this of course changes the amount of water needed since the blended tomatoes are not concentrated.

Pita-Pockets and Traveling on a Budget

Living in Central America, I travel just about every three months or so because of my visa. I almost always travel on a budget, so eating out for the duration of the trip simply doesn’t work well. The most recent trip was to Bocas del Toro, Panama with my roommate.

First thing, made sure to pack my hot/cold bag that I picked up for a dollar at the grocery store ages ago and have used more than any cooler we own. I suggest everyone should have one, they fold down real nice and are convenient to carry with you.

So upon arrival in Bocas, we decided we would eat-in as best we could without a kitchen, our room did however have a mini fridge. A trip to the grocery store resulted in a package of pita bread, a small package of good bologna with the peppercorns in it, 6 slices of American cheese, can of tuna, can of smoked tuna (make sure they are pull top), small package of mayo with lemon, tiny jar of green olives, small head of lettuce, small onion, two bags of chips and aluminum foil. This covered lunch for two days plus a snack.

We made bologna pitas with cheese, lettuce, mayo and onion; tuna pitas with olives, lettuce, mayo and onion; also cheese pitas with lettuce, mayo and onion. Some we ate in the room, others we wrapped up in foil and placed in the hot/cold bag for our excursions, they were perfect on our trip.

We were however on vacation, so we ate out for breakfast and dinner spending no more than $10 for the two of us at each meal and a couple of times far less. One night we had two pizza slices while walking the town, another night be nibbled on items we purchased from street vendors while strolling the main drag, and our last night we shared a giant plate of chow mien and an orange soda while overlooking the water.

We had a blast and enjoyed our food, if you are traveling on a budget, I hope this gives you some ideas on how to keep it cheap.

Notes: Although I brought my hot/cold bag, I failed to think about items that might be necessary for assembly, like a knife which we borrowed from the small hotel’s owner. In the future, I’ll make sure to have a little kitchen kit with us. Also, the pita bread was a little difficult to work with as it had been refrigerated at the store, but the roommate won the in-store debate, in the future I will do tortilla wraps. Thought the roommate was a bit goofy for buying the olives, but I don’t think I’ll ever make a tuna sandwich without them again, super delicious results.

FYI: Bocas del Toro was awesome!