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Photo Challenge: Day 23 – Low Light

From Photo Challenge

I am now committed to cooking. I spent a load of dough today on this pot (and not the kind of dough you knead). I needed a larger sturdy dish like this for cooking chicken dishes, beef dishes and what ever else comes into mind. Don’t you love the rooster!
This photo was shot in shutter priority without a flash with ISO setting of 200. I lightened it up a bit on the computer but it still is a little dark. I like the warm look. There aren’t too many blown out bits that appear.

Nitrogen Deficiency

We have 4 citrus bushes in our backyard and over the past few weeks I have noticed that one is going into decline. This weekend I was able to do a little research on the matter and I think I have come to the conclusion that my bush has a nitrogen deficiency. The UF extension office web site has wonderful advice on every kind of issue that a gardener could have in Florida. It is a great resource to use. I have officially diagnosed the problem with the Eureka Lemon as Yellow Vein Chlorosis. This also could be caused by water damage. To treat this problem, I will be monitoring the irrigation in the area and I have applied some cottonseed meal I had in the garage to increase the nitrogen levels a bit. Hopefully I will be able to save our only lemon bush.

From Photo Challenge

Eithiopian Spicy Lentils

From Food

Around a week ago I decided to go on a slow carb diet. Basically for 6 days you eat beans, meat, and veggies and avoid dairy, breads, and grains. And on the 7th day, you cheat, you can eat anything you want. I needed to make large batches of things that I could eat throughout the week so I would not be tempted to fall off the wagon. I took out a recipe for Ethiopian Spiced Lentils that I used in the past and enjoyed. I made my own modifications below:

  • Used pretty much all the spices mentioned in the recipe but not necessarily in those amounts. I took the approach add seasoning, taste, add more seasoning.
  • I omitted the red wine vinegar (mostly because I thought at the time it wasn’t allowed on the diet – still not sure if it is)
  • I soaked the lentils over night before cooking. Technically you don’t have to soak lentils but it is always helpful to release gases in the beans/legumes.
  • I sauteed carrots along with the onions and garlic.
  • I always end up cooking things longer than recipes say. I tend to cook at slightly lower temperatures than they recommend. This was probably simmered an additional 5-10 minutes.
  • I ate the dish without rice.

What I would change about how I prepared this dish:

  • Either omit the peas altogether or cook them with the lentils so they are mushy. I am not a big fan of sweet peas. I would rather know that they are not even there.
  • I would cook the carrots with the lentils so they are also mushy. It was distracting to have crunchy carrots in what was essentially a mushy dish.
  • Make it slightly less spicy hot – a little less red pepper.