Martha, Helen and Me

My co-worker Trish was eating something delicious looking at lunch the other day- red lentil cakes. An avid vegetarian, I’m always looking for something to stick in a bun that doesn’t come from a cow or other animal. I’ve made black bean burgers, tofu cutlets, tofu and beet burgers and my personal favourite: chickpea cutlets. Everyone in my house likes chick peas, so even my youngest (and fussiest child) will dig in. So I asked Trish just where she had gotten the recipe and she said Martha Stewart. We then had what I call, The Martha Stewart Conversation. You see, I’m not supposed to like her. She’s too omnipresent, too conventional, too perfect. People like me, we’re supposed to read Vegetarian Times, Bust and Adbusters, which I do. But I also have a soft spot for Martha. Her magazines are decorating-porn for me. When I read the Martha Stewart Living magazine, I too have an upper East-side apartment with a living room the size of the square footage of my entire house. I have a closet just for dinner napkins and a room for gift wrapping and flower arranging. Which I don’t really want, except for sometimes. Don’t tell anyone.

There’s another reason I have a soft spot for Martha. You see, I still have a stash of Martha Stewart Living magazines on my closet shelf at my cottage. I read them in the summer and I think of my mother-in-law, Helen. They were her magazines and it used to be her cottage, which she loved. And so when I sit in my darkened bedroom in the afternoon for a few minutes away from my kids and flip through a spread of vintage tea towels or porcelain milk pitchers shaped like birds, I like to imagine Helen is still out on the front porch. She’s watering her geraniums or digging in her garden, and I imagine any minute she’ll come to me with some vegetarian recipe she found in the magazine and ask me if she should try it out.

Here’s the recipe for Lentil Cakes. I’m not sure Helen would have liked them, but she would have tried them with great open-minded gusto, just like she approached everything else in life. 

Ingredients

• 1 cup red lentils
• 3 scallions, pale-green and white parts chopped; greens thinly sliced on bias
• 1 tablespoon harissa (or chile garlic paste or other spice)
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• Coarse salt
• 1 large egg plus 1 large egg white
• 2 1/2 ounces goat's-milk or sheep's-milk feta cheese, crumbled (1/2 cup)
• 1/2 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/8 teaspoon finely grated garlic (from 1 small clove)
• 1/2 English cucumber, cut into half-moons (1 cup)
• 1/2 ounce upland cress or watercress (1 cup)
• 1/4 ounce fresh mint leaves (1/2 cup)
• 2 teaspoons safflower oil

Directions

1.       Cover lentils with 2 inches cold water. Soak 4 hours at room temperature or up to 1 day in refrigerator. Drain well. Pulse pale-green and white parts of scallions in a food processor until minced. Add harissa, turmeric, baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and egg and egg white; pulse to combine. Add lentils; puree until almost smooth. Transfer mixture to a bowl, and stir in a little more than half the feta.

2.       Whisk remaining feta, the yogurt, lemon juice, and garlic in a small bowl. Combine cucumber, cress, and mint in another bowl. (I gotta tell you, I never got to the greens part, and it was still delicious.)

3.       Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Place a scant tablespoon of scallion greens in pan, and spoon about an eighth of the batter on top, spreading to make a 3-inch cake. Repeat, making 4 cakes at a time. Cook until golden brown, flipping once, about 6 minutes. Add remaining teaspoon oil, and repeat.

4.         Divide sauce among 4 plates; top with salad. Place cakes next to greens,