Green Lentil Salad

1 1/2 c. green French lentils
a few bay leaves
1/2 t. salt
3 cloves garlic
3 T. olive oil
several glugs of white wine vinegar
dollop of Dijon mustard
handful of parsley, chopped
3 1/2 oz. feta cheese

Rinse lentils and put in large saucepan, covering with about an inch of water. Simmer with salt, bay leaves, and clove of garlic for half an hour or a little longer, or until tender but not falling apart. Drain.

For the dressing, put vinegar and mustard in a bowl with 2 cloves minced garlic. Whisk in olive oil, and add salt and pepper to taste (don't make it too salty, because the feta will add saltiness and the lentils already have some seasoning). Add more of any ingredient to your taste.

Mix lentils with dressing, parsley, and feta. Add more salt or pepper if needed. This would be good with chopped red peppers or other added vegetables.

*****

Tasty salad, high in protein. I like lentils but they upset my stomach. I'm in a pattern of: eat them, get upset stomach, avoid them for a couple months until I forget the bad effects, eat them again, repeat ad nauseum.

Feta is a nice touch but optional. Goat cheese would be very good as well. I've been eating more dairy products lately, mostly in the form of yogurt. Brown Cow plain cream top is delicious. But I'm getting pimply, just like PETA said I would. Sigh. I'm trying to use up our big block of feta, and then I will regretfully cut back on dairy products, yet again. There's a hole in my diet that needs to be filled with something white and creamy, and I already am eating too much soy.