yellow split pea soup

Like most things here - nothing special, but I like to remember the amounts I used.

1 lb of yellow split peas, soaked (for about 24 hours because I kept forgetting to deal with them)
handful of pearled barley
1 large onion
2 carrots
3 stalks of celery
4 cloves of garlic
~1 tbs of thyme
salt
chardonnay (to deglaze pan)

I sauteed the onions, carrots and celery with thyme and liberal sprinkles of salt for maybe 10-15 minutes. Dumped them into the crockpot, which had been slowly heating up (on high) with the split peas and the water they'd soaked in. Dumped in the handful of barley and the chopped garlic. Deglazed the frying pan with chardonnay, dumped that in the crockpot, left it on high for about 4 hours. It could go longer, probably.

Has a reasonable amount of flavor.

lentil/pea/potato curry

2 tablespoons canola oil

2 onions—finely chopped

2 cloves garlic—minced (crushed)

2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger

2 teaspoons ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon chili powder

1 large potato—peeled and cut into bite-size cubes

½ cup red lentils

14 oz (420g) canned tomatoes—chopped

1 cup coconut milk

1 cup vegetable or chicken stock

1 teaspoon garam masala

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon brown sugar

1 cup basmati rice

1 cup green peas

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (coriander)

1 tablespoon lemon juice

HEAT the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat and cook the onions for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. ADD the garlic, ginger, ground coriander, cumin, turmeric and chili and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. ADD the potato and lentils and stir to coat with the spice mixture. ADD the tomatoes, coconut milk, stock, garam masala, salt and sugar, bring to the boil and cover with a lid. REDUCE the heat to medium and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. WHILE the curry simmers, cook the rice. ADD the peas to the curry and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. REMOVE from the heat and stir in the cilantro and lemon juice. SERVE on a bed of rice.
I made this tonight, but
a) omitted cilantro because it's icky
b) definitely started the rice before I made everything else (because brown is the way to go)
c) used extra ginger and garlic
d) accidentally spilled a bit of the canned coconut milk I was using

http://www.mediterrasian.com/delicious_recipes_lentil_curry.htm

lentil spaghetti sauce

I found it here but it's a recipe I'd used before and lost. I used to eat it over pasta or rice but lately I just eat it plain like a stew, which is also good.  I'm adjusting it to what I've actually been doing:

1 bag (16oz) dried lentils 
oil
3/4 cup chopped onion (or more)
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (or to taste)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper (or to taste)
1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1 tablespoon white vinegar
2 bouillon cubes
1/2 teaspoon dried whole basil (or more)
1/2 teaspoon dried whole oregano (or more)
**I do not add any salt while cooking and rarely end up needing it, because most bouillon and most canned tomatoes have salt. 

Sort/pick over lentils to remove any debris or stones. Rinse them if you're feeling ambitious. Put them in a 3 quart pot with a few extra inches of water, bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer, put lid on, cook til soft-ish (anywhere from 20 to 40 minutes.) If they're getting dry add more water. It's not rocket science but I try not to end up with a huge amount of water when they're done, just enough that they stay covered.

Meanwhile: Chop onions and garlic. Put a few tsp of oil in a heavy pot (mine is 4 1/2 quarts), turn on heat to medium, let it heat up. Add onion and garlic and red pepper and oregano; saute until tender.  Add tomatoes, vinegar, and bouillon and simmer over low heat. Once lentils are mostly soft, dump them into the pot, add dried basil, stir well, and let it cook on a very low flame for a bit to help the flavors meld. (It can burn/stick more easily at this stage so watch out.) This tends to taste better after it's sat for a few hours or the next day - it's good as leftovers and good to freeze.