Hello, my fellow kitchen explorers,

Today I am sharing with you not just one recipe for a simple, hearty, nourishing dish ~ but also its evolution to something almost fancy. And with that, opening the space, extending the invitation, to you to allow your own creativity to take over.

If you are feeling a little challenged right now, with just having read that, slightly anxious and maybe even resistant ~ well, join the club. This here has been challenging to write.

Something so simple? Just a few sentences? How??

Well, the short answer is karma, of course. There is a lot going on right now, internally. It feels like a full on battle, just to get these words out. And not be derailed.

So I am sharing not just a recipe, and its evolution ~ this is part of my soul's journey, in more than one sense. (Feels very vulnerable to write this ~ and to leave it in and not edit it out!)

Having said that ~ let's go into the first recipe, the original Hot One Pot.

A dish I created because I wanted something easy to make, warm and filling and nutritious, and also quick to make. Hence, a one pot.

One Pots, to my mind, are often a fancy way of saying stew: You throw everything into one pot – hurray, less dishes to wash! - and cook it. Of course, depending on what you throw in, some ingredients might be mush before the others are even half-way done. So there is something a little more intricate, if you will, to One Pots.

Don't worry, though. This one here is really simple to make!

And even if something cooks to mush ~ I was thinking that stews, one pots, are probably among the first dishes people created. If you only have one cooking dish and a fire, well, that is invited. (I wonder how nutrition went in Lemurian times?)

There is also the fascinating titbit I came across a while ago that in pre-industrial times, public places, especially inns for travellers, often served a kind of endless stew: Ingredients in the pot, cook, serve, and the leftovers are left in the pot. Next day, add water, veggies and what-have-you, bring to a boil, continue.

So, yeah, you'd have some ingredients that are mush, others well-cooked. To my mind, as long as it's tasty ~ why not?

I also really like the idea that stews ~ one pots ~ are a type of travellers' food. For aren't we all travellers, in this life and beyond?

But enough of the philosophising (even though it helped greatly in overcoming the internal blockage here) ~ let's get to the

Hot One Pot

(it has chili!)(if you want)

the ingredients

• three potatoes

• 50g green lentils

• 50g buchwheat

• some onion(s)

• 1 can of chopped tomatoes

• water from rinsing the can of tomatoes

• 1 teaspoon chili paste (or chili flakes)

• ca. 3 teaspoons tomato paste (or more, to taste)

• 4 tablespoons tamari

• 1 tablespoon (rice vinegar)

• 2 generous teaspoons paprika

• salt & pepper

Chili paste/chili flakes: At the amounts given here, there is only a very gentle heat in the dish. If you don't like that at all, leave chili out and replace with something else: more tomato paste, or miso paste, or maybe a dash of red curry paste.

the creation

• wash and chop potatoes into small cubes

• rinse lentils and buckwheat

• chop onions if you use them

• throw all in one pot, cover with water, cook gently for 15 minutes

• drain water and throw all other ingredients in, mix well (or, for extra fancy, blend with blender, then add in)

• season to taste

• done!

Yes, it really is that simple. The trick here is that potatoes, buckwheat, and the green lentils have the same cooking time. Yes, potatoes might be done sooner than the buckwheat, if you chop them really small. But overall: same cooking time.

So, if you are looking for something super simple, quick, and healthy? Try this one!

now for the creative aspect

Like stews in general, I feel, this One Pot offers a lot of options for creative expression and exploration. Such as:

• replace one potato with a carrot

• replace one potato with a parsnip

• do NOT replace one potato with beetroot, for they take forever to cook, and your lentils WILL be mush before the beetroot is done!

• but a red pepper might also be nice

• or pumpkin

• or …

You get the idea.

And this is how the dish then evolved …

See, I really liked the combination of veggies-lentils-buckwheat. I also still had some green lentils. And a lot of veggies in the fridge. So I got going and created the

One Pot Deluxe

(cooked in two pots, because I didn't have one pot big enough, oops)

the ingredients:

• ½ pumpkin

• 2 sweet potatoes

• 2 small yellow potatoes

• 1 small red potato

• 1 carrot

• 1 zucchini

• 2 onions

• 75g green lentils

• 75g buckwheat

• 2 tablespoons ginger juice

• 4-6 table spoons rice vinegar

• 4-6 tablespoons tamari

• salt, pepper

• agava sirup

… I think that's it?

Okay, with the lentils and buckwheat, the measurements are approximate: I used up the green lentils, so didn't measure them beyond pouring into a juice glass. It was half a glass. Then I filled the glass with buckwheat. Called it done.

the creating:

• grate all veggies into two bowls: pumpkin, zucchini, and sweet potato in one; rest in the other ~ because these do have different cooking times!

• chop onions

• rinse lentils and buckwheat

• get a really big pot – or, well, one small pot and one large saucepan

• sauté onion

• throw in grated potatoes & carrot, let cook for a bit (2 minutes, for the Andromedans)

• throw in rest of veggies, let cook for a bit (another 2 minutes)

• add ginger juice, rice vinegar, tamari, agava sirup to taste ~ I was going for a sweet-and-sour taste here

• put on lid on saucepan, let cook until lentil-and-buckwheat is done

• so, yeah, I cooked lentil-and-buckwheat in a separate pot; like the above version, 15 minutes, seasoned with some salt and a splash of vinegar (lentils and vinegar make a great combination! At least, my tastebuds think so...)

• pour lentil-and-buckwheat into saucepan, mix together well

• done

Give it a taste test at this point, you might feel something else is needed. To me, this was perfect as is - no chopped tomatoes this time, it didn't feel right. Didn't have any chili paste anymore ~ used it up for the Hot One Pot, else I might have added some of that, though. Maybe lemon juice, though …?

Well. There is room for further evolution. So let your creativity run free ~ and see where it takes you!

(Please share results! I'd love to know!)

… to be continued ...