Mennonite Boys Can Cook Too

The recent internet and publishing phenomenon [at least in
the Mennonite world], “Mennonite Girls Can Cook” has got me thinking. I know
that traditionally in Mennonite homes [and probably in most homes of the world],
women have been the primary hosts and cooks, but let’s get with the times. This
is 2011. Today there are a lot of “stay-at-home-dads” as well as men like me
who work full-time outside the home [so does my wife] who prepare slow-cooker
meals in the morning or can’t wait to get home to cook for the family after
work. In our household we actually attempt to share cooking and clean-up duties
with our teen and young adult children as well.

Barbequing has traditionally been a man’s domain, but I’m
talking about more than that. I’m talking about intensive cooking with recipe
books and the whole kitchen thing here. By the way, recipe books frustrate me.
For example, how big is a medium onion compared to a large onion? It’s all
relative. And do I have to measure all the herbs and spices with a tiny 1/8
teaspoon? It’s ridiculous! So in the spirit of men cooking, I’ll offer my own man’s
version of one of my favorite recipes found in that Mennonite standard, the More With Less Cookbook.

First of all, “Baked Lentils with Cheese” is a really
boring name, and especially to sell it to children, it needs something more
exciting. Leaving out words like “lentils” and emphasizing words like “cheese”
can also help. I make a lot of leftover soups and things [impossible to do
recipes] but they always have to have a name that causes curiosity and
intrigue. Because of the herbs and spices and the origin of lentils in the near
east I will call this one a “Mediterranean Cheese Bake” but you can use
whatever works in your household.

Directions:

Get a 9 X 13 pan [a casserole dish will work too]. More With Less, and internet recipes of
this dish, call for a complicated process of baking various ingredients for
various times, but to simplify things I just throw everything below into the
baking dish all at once, other than the cheese, and mix it around, cover it
with tin foil, and bake it for a bit longer than directions usually tell you.
[I like my food dead and done.] Bake this for about 1 hour 15 minutes at 375. Then
take the tin foil off and cover with cheese and bake for another 5-10 minutes.

Ingredients:

2 cups water

1 3/4 cups green lentils [although other colors work too]

A can of cut up tomatoes [14+ oz], tomato sauce [10+ oz] or
3 baseball size tomatoes cut up

1 bay leaf [do not discard; it’s like a prize for whoever
gets it in their helping]

4 cloves garlic

1 stalk celery chopped

2 baseball size onions chopped

2 hot dog size carrots chopped

1 green and/or red pepper chopped

Herbs and spices: I always add more than the recipe says
because you can never have too much flavor. So shake in lots of the following [1/8
to ¼ teaspoon depending on your
preference for flavor]: black pepper, marjoram, oregano, parsley, basil, sage,
thyme. If you don’t have them all or want to vary the amounts, it still works.

Salt: You can add salt but to cut down on sodium and high
blood pressure this can be added later by individual eaters to taste.

2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese. Add some feta
cheese if you have some on hand to make it even more Mediterranean!

It makes enough for our family of 6. Happy eating and happy
cooking!