Zara Cooks in Cameroon

Ingredients:

2 c. cooked beans 2 eggs 1 c. oats (dry)

1 T oil 1 onion, chopped 5 garlic cloves, chopped (or more) 1 maggi cube 1 shrimp cube 1 packet elena (70 gm tomato paste) cumin, hot pepper

Saute onions in oil for a few minutes. Add garlic, cubes, hot pepper and cumin, cook for another minute or two. Add tomato paste and mix together. Add spice mix to beans. Mash beans with a fork (or what have you) and mix in oats and eggs. Let sit in fridge for 30 minutes or so (this will help the burgers stick together better). Form into 8 patties (about 1/2 inch thick, you can press them thinner in the pan if they're falling apart). Fry on both sides for a few minutes.

Yum!

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp veg oil 1-2 onions, diced 1-2 carrots, diced 2-3 celery stalks, chopped 4-5 garlic cloves, minced 3 Tbsp peeled/minced ginger 1-2 Tbsp hot pepper, minced (or cayenne)

2-3 Tbsp ground cumin 1-2 Tbsp ground coriander 16 oz lentils (≈2 c) (i prefer brown lentils) ½ t salt pepper 5 c. water

Heat oil over medium heat & add onion, carrot, celery, garlic, ginger, hot pepper, cumin and coriander. Cook 2-3 min. Add water, lentils, salt, pepper. Bring to boil, then cover and reduce to low. Cook for 40 min, until lentils are tender and water is absorbed (unless you want it soupy). Serve over couscous (yum!) or rice, or plain, or on bread-like something.

Leftovers? (Yes, this makes a lot) Take 1.5-2 c leftovers, add 1 egg and enough flour to make into burger consistency (still pretty messy). Make into 3 or 4 patties and fry in a little oil. Lentil burgers, yum!

My senior year of college, I would cook up Easy Lentils and some plain couscous on the weekend. I ate lentils and couscous almost every-day for lunch, and a lot of times for dinner, too.