Italian Lentil Salad

Forgive me the multiple posts, but blogger and I were having a disagreement over my antiquated dial-up and uploading photos. This recipe is from Sunday...Katie and I took advantage of the nice weather and went to Onondaga Lake State Park for a picnic. Having about 45 minutes to make something picnic-able, I threw together a batch of Italian Salad, using puy lentils. We packed some plum tomato and red pepper slices, plus a couple of oranges for dessert.

Italian Lentil (or whatever) Salad

• 2/3 c dry puy lentils
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tsp Italian herb blend
• a second clove of garlic, minced
• 2 medium carrots, chopped into 1/4" pieces
• 1 med-lrg green bell pepper, or a mix of green and red, chopped into 1/4 inch pieces
• 8-10 sundried tomato halves, chopped
• 2/3 c frozen green peas, thawed
• 2/3 c frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 3 tbsp chopped fresh basil
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1/4 c balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• salt and pepper to taste

Cover the lentils, along with the chopped onion and 1 of the garlic cloves, with water and cook, partially covered, until the lentils are soft but still holding shape. Drain and place in a large bowl. Add all the remaining ingredients. Stir well to blend. Cover and refridgerate for at least an hour. The longer it sits, the better the flavor but it is good right away, too.