— Leslie Gabbert

I'll, I'll, uh, address a couple of categories, um, of preparations or, or meals. And, you know, one would be, um, you know, Indian, I'll, I'll call them curries. That's kind of the, the catchall term for these, um, you know, sort of saucy, right? Preparations that can go with grains or breads. Um, so, you know, I'll, I'll make some selection of, of, uh, of that sort of preparation. So it could be a traditional doll, you know, based upon some sort of, um, a, a lentil. And, you know, sometimes, um, you know, I'll add some sort of a, a leafy green to add some variety to those as you change the style of the variety of legume. You know, that also changes up the, the dish, you know, from night to night or week to week. Um, also, um, you know, spikes ratios can, can shift and, uh, you know, also through addition and omission of certain ingredients. So you can change the flavor profile on these preparations as well. And, you know, also as you pair them with, you know, different, um, um, breads or grains, uh, the experience of the meal will change too. So, you know, it could be brown rice or white rice or red rice, or whole oats or whole, um, wheat berries. Um, canoa millet, you know, uh, those are a few that come to mind. And, um, on the bread side, you know, sometimes it's leavened bread, um, you know, that, um, uh, you know, we'll bake at home. Also, flat breads are pretty common in, uh, in our home, uh, whether it's a, uh, a tortilla, uh, or, you know, something more along the lines of a pita bread. Uh, also some, uh, Indian style, um, flatbreads, um, like dosa, uh, which is made from a, a batter, um, ideally fermented, uh, based on rice and, um, uh, legumes. And, um, though that, that can, uh, uh, appear in many different styles or forms as well, in terms of additional additives. Um, diced onions or tomatoes, um, cilantro, um, sometimes even, um, you know, uh, other grains can be added in, in a whole form too, um, to add some interest to those sorts of flatbread preparations. Uh, and then another scenario would be, um, you know, um, we eat a lot of tacos, so I'm gonna call them, you know, Mexican inspired meals. And we eat a lot of legumes here at home and always have, I don't know, 5, 6, 7, 8 varieties, uh, in our inventory. And, you know, some of that I think we have in the house right now probably include, uh, chickpeas and black beans. And there's some, um, mayo coba, these kind of medium sized white beans. There's, uh, pinto beans and black eyed peas and brown lentils and mung beans, and some of the lentils are whole, some are split, some are peeled, some are peeled on. Um, so, you know, we always have a selection like that in the house. And we'll make, um, um, in addition, um, you know, salsas, the fresh salsas are pretty common, right? Salsa, fresca, your tomato, onion, cilantro, lime juice, salt, um, chili if you want it. Um, sort of a, a quick preparation. You know, I also have in the freezer, um, salsa roja, which is made from dried chilies that are toasted soaked and blended, you know, with some, uh, tomato and, and onion, a little garlic, um, uh, cumin and, uh, splash of apple cider vinegar. You know, salt's gonna be adjusted. And, and, um, we always have, um, uh, some inventory of that. It's such a, such a versatile salsa to use. And, you know, that'll come out in addition to a salisa fresca. And of course, the salisa fresca can be made in different styles. Roja can be, uh, made in different styles. There are many other salads to choose from as well. And so if you think about all the legume varieties, um, you know, and all those, those side options, then you can have some pretty fun meals. Um, and, you know, we usually make corn tortillas. Um, they're very easy to make. And, uh, if, if you haven't made corn tortillas, I encourage you to give it a try and to keep practicing and to sort of refine that process if you enjoy tortillas because, uh, they're quick to make, and the aroma is intoxicating, and the flavor is beautiful. And, uh, once you go fresh, you'll never go back to the grocery store variety. There's just no comparison. Um, but those are a, a couple of, uh, sort of themes, um, of, uh, you know, how we might do dinner here, uh, whether it's a weeknight or a weekday or, or a weekend night, I guess, uh, would be the, the contrast here. And it provides a lot of variety. You can, again, bring in a lot of different, um, uh, vegetables that are included with these legume preparations, uh, you know, as well as side dishes, uh, in the form of, uh, cooked vegetables or salads, uh, to, to, to bolster that meal on a, on a cool cooler day, uh, I'm sorry, on, on a, on a warmer day to introduce a cooler dish at, at the, at the table. You know, I would consider a salad, um, again, probably legume based. I just happened to make one yesterday. That was, uh, some, uh, chopped broccoli, and there's some, uh, onion, tomato, cilantro, and, um, some generous squeezing of lime juice with, uh, a bunch of chickpeas. And, um, uh, then that was bound with tahini and, uh, black pepper salt, and you can adjust it with other spices if you want. And, uh, again, that can be, you know, eaten on its own. It can be, you know, eaten, uh, with some, uh, grains or, uh, or breads, you know, for lunch or for dinner. Uh, those are all pretty easy. They're satisfying, they're flavorful. They're, uh, you, you can, you can modify them to fit your mood or the in, or the, uh, ingredients that you have, you know, in stock at that moment. So they're versatile and, um, uh, delicious, uh, as well, you know, I hope you'll give some of these a try.