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nancy j. needs your help

I recently received an email from Nancy J. in Omaha whose friend is stationed in Afghanistan and is looking for hats, mittens, scarves, sweaters and blankets for children who don’t have warm clothing. She’s hoping that some folks who knit, crochet or sew could dig around in their stashes and make something to help keep these kids warm.

afghan

She sends a box or two a month and will be doing this for the next 15 months or so. She also sends over things like backpacks, pens, notebooks, rulers, pencils, crayons, coloring books, calculators, soccer balls and footballs (deflated), hackey sacks, yo-yos, jax sets, beanie babies, and thermoses for water.

afghan

Oh, and the warm clothing doesn’t have to be handmade, so if you’re not crafty, but still want to send something warm, that’s ok, too.

afghan

I’m going to dig in the stash and make some hats. If you’d like to coordinate with Nancy J. and send some items, you can reach her at janousek2 (at) cox (dot) net. Or leave me a comment and I’ll email you her cell phone number.

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curried lentils + spinach

We’re busy getting ready for my parents’ visit. The basement is finished! All that is left for us to do before they get here is set up the bed. Last night we cleaned the bathroom and vacuumed the carpet. It’s amazing how easy new bathrooms are to clean! It’s also amazing how you can vacuum a carpet over and over and still find bits of construction stuff. I think we are going to have to vacuum one more time before M can go downstairs and play.

Nancy requested the Curried Lentils and Spinach recipe. This originally came from somewhere on the Internet, but I modified it beyond recognition. I guess it’s fair to call it a Kundhi original now. Teresa, if you liked the Saag at House of India, you are going to LOVE this!

1-1/2 t curry powder
1/2 t ground cumin
1/2 t ground ginger
1/4 t turmeric
1/4 t cayenne
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed and minced (or more if you like garlic!)
1 lb bag of lentils, picked through and rinsed
1 10-oz pkg chopped spinach, thawed
6 cups of water (or chicken/veggie stock)
1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes

Sauté the onion in a little oil until it starts to get brown around the edges. Add the garlic and sauté another two minutes. Combine with all of the other ingredients except the tomatoes in your crock pot. Cook until lentils are tender. Stir in can of tomatoes and serve with plain yogurt if you like. (I’d like some yogurt, but can’t have it yet. Soon I hope!)

This makes a lot, but freezes really well.