We went to work on Sunday which was suppose to be the last day of work for the week. The day before the heating wasn't working and we worked with our coats on cooking for deliveries. My feet were frozen in my boots.
The owner wouldn't answer any of our calls or messages. The manager was having her last day in Mexico and she tried to call him as well from Mexico. No answer.
The caretaker of the building came to silence the smoke alarm. Our hood fan breaker kept tripping and set off the alarm. The hood fan was bringing in more cold air so we kept it off. The caretaker was mad as hell.
On Sunday the temperature was at 4 celcius. After we walked in there was some kind of constant buzzing coming from the alarm. There was no way I was going to face the mean caretaker again, let alone work with our coats on, so asked the girl in charge to call him to deal with it and we left. I told her we are taking the day off. She is in charge of the system but I am making those decisions. She was happy. We already had two weeks off which broke us financially but what was one more day.
When we got home we wanted lunch. All the stores are closed on Sundays including grocery stores, due to the restrictions. There were several items still left in the fridge fortunately. I also had some items in the freezer and some arborio rice and lentils in the cupboard. I managed to put together a proper and satisfying lunch.
Lentil mushroom risotto
- 1 1/2 cups arborio rice
- 1 box mushrooms (3 or 4 sliced)
- 1 cup brown lentils
- 1 carrot diced
- 1/2 red bell pepper diced
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1 cup chopped broccoli
- 2 or 3 cloves minced garlic
- bay leaves
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon thyme or sprig of fresh thyme
- 4 tablespoons wine (I used cooking wine)
- 1 or more liters of vegetable broth
- 1 or 2 tablespoon powdered vegetable broth or 1 cube (optional)
I still had a jar of homemade vegetable broth which I almost always have.
I wanted the dish to be less rice than usual and more of everything else. This way it would be more of a main dish then a side, although would be good as a side as well.
After caramelizing the onion and garlic add the carrot, pepper and mushrooms. I don't know if this is the way an expert would do it but this is how I did it. I have only made risotto two other times in my life. I added the cooking wine after the onions and garlic were cooked. I didn't have actual wine because we stopped drinking and we wouldn't be able to buy it anyway. We are no longer allowed in the liquor and wine store without "papers", so we just stopped drinking wine which is a great thing. I feel much better now as well.
Then I added the rice and stirred cooking on medium for a while.
After a while I added lentils which had soaked for several hours. I stirred everything together then started adding the broth a little at a time.
One thing I've learned is to add the liquid to the pot a little at a time while stirring frequently and making sure it doesn't stick. Don't add more liquid until it has evaporated.
When the rice is done it should be tender but not too mushy and still have a bite to it. The lentils are done as well. This is when I added the chopped broccoli and the peas just to cook through maintaining as much color as possible.
I had some flat leaf parsley that I chopped and put on top along with some green onion.
I still had quite a bit of romaine lettuce and a few other items so I was able to accompany with a salad.
For the dressing I blended some soaked cashews which I had in the fridge, a couple cloves of garlic, the juice of a lemon, a tablespoon of cider vinegar, 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast, salt and pepper and a dash of agave nectar.
This was very filling so we had leftovers for the next day.
Thanks for dropping by.
design by: @KidSisters
I haven't made risotto for ages and this recipe sounds and looks amazing. Magnifique 😘👌 By the way, I don't speak French, lol.
Haha thanks. I don't speak enough French to say I speak French. Merci!😊
Seriously? That's too funny!
So healthy and looks so delicious. Mushrooms can add charm to any dish I believe!
Thank you so much. I do love mushrooms as well.
That’s looks delicious as always my friend! Have a wonderful day my dear.
Thank you my friend enjoy your good times!😊
Hi @carolynstahl! One of my favorite grains is lentils. Sometimes I prepare them with olives, capers, lots of bay leaves and pearl barley. I also accompany them with fried plantains and avocado, it is really good; but this recipe that you have brought today is super delicious, since you have made a risotto and with those fresh vegetables and mushrooms, they make a unique combination. I really liked it, thanks for posting in the Plant Power (Vegan) community. Greetings.
Thank you so much. I love your idea for lentils and I will for sure try it. I love olives and capers.
Very nice! Now I know how to cook my lentils!! Soak them several hours first! Hahaha.
Wanna have some of this! I must cook my lentil soon!
Thanks. I wanted the lentils to be quicker to cook with the rice and it worked out.
What a nightmare! I love risotto and make it quite often in winter. The traditional way is to sauté the onions, then to add and coat the rice in the olive oil before adding the wine. The gradual adding of the broth and the constant stirring is almost like a meditation.
A good way to end a crap day. I hope.
Oh thanks so much. I was hoping someone would give me some pointers. I will coat the rice next time.
True about the meditation haha. A great way to end a crap day lol.
Yay! 🤗
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Oh that looks really good!!
Bummer about those work conditions. Stupid boss. Has he been off for two weeks too?
We don't know what's going on. He owns 4 restaurants. The original one is one of the most successful in the city. He changed after he got jabbed. He used to come around and make silly jokes. He's only around 32 years old. He has been so uninvolved with our restaurant that he hardly knows what's on our menu and we even made physical changes to the place on his tab. This weekend he will owe us two paychecks. We live paycheck to paycheck I hope to find out soon what's going on. I fear not having a job to go to. We won't ever collect government money. Thanks @owasco.
When someone - a lawyer a teacher a boss a friend..., starts behaving uncharacteristically, I assume their life has been derailed.
Do you know anyone working in one of his other restaurants? I wonder if they are having the same problems. Maybe he is letting yours go to lighten his load?
Not having been paid for two weeks, serious problems not addressed so that you can't even open? I would not put any more eggs in this basket. I hope you do get those back wages, but I would not count on it. Sorry.
My manager finally came back from her vacation so she is having a meeting with him tomorrow. I told her about the pay. Apparently he has done them but he just didn't bother to call the girl that should have picked them up. So we'll see. He has to pay because if Marc and I leave he has to find some other people. There is a shortage of people that are willing to get their hands dirty. The ones that are willing are bad workers. You know how it goes I'm sure.
I'm rooting for you!