I fail at simmering

[ellarien]

Saturday's attempt at lentils -- 3/4 cup in a cup and a half of water, plus a tomato, a crushed clove of garlic and half a green pepper -- was only a qualified success; they were dry and sticking to the bottom of the pan before the time was up, and the veggies were overcooked. The last serving of the batch I made into a sort of microwave casserole with the last of a package of Trader Joe's tomato soup, which worked out pretty well, but they weren't particularly inspiring otherwise. So this time I decided to double the quantity of green pepper and tomato, but put them in halfway through. When the timer went off after fifteen minutes, the lentils were already dry and sticking to the bottom of the pan. I added more water and the veggies, and an extra shake of ground oregano and black pepper, and brought it all back to the boil, then turned the flame down as low as it would go. We'll see how that goes.

Maybe I need a heavier pan. Or a smaller one? This is the second-biggest, about nine inches across, and a cup-and-a-half of water doesn't come very deep.