I wasn't born or entirely raised in North America, so there's a lot on this continent that doesn't make a ton of sense to me. That being said, a good Midwestern casserole is - to borrow Jolen Tsai's wording - a thing of "ugly beauty." The weather's just started to turn a bit and I find myself craving a good, hearty casserole!
This is my go-to avocado toast, which I'm posting mostly 'cause I keep forgetting my favourite ratio of salsa to avocado. I'm sure there's better out there, but this is a quick, easy meal or snack when you're wanting to eat something on the healthier side of things, but don't want to spend an age preparing it. I hope you like it as much as my family does!
This dish is one of those that was born out of need. We had forgotten to go to the grocery store and I was out of peanut butter for my usual vegan breakfast go to (peanut butter oatmeal), so I was rooting around in the cabinets for something quick 'n easy before I had to start teaching...and behold, split red lentils! I didn't quite have everything to make a normal dal (again, the grocery store situation), so when I found salsa in the fridge an idea - no, a star! - was born.
I'm sure there a million much better, more authentic versions of this out there, but this was born from a craving for a fusion of the pre-Lent indulging going on right now, Tex-Mex, and my favorite Chinese breakfast, xīhóngshì chǎo jīdàn. (Which is not a breakfast dish per se, but became a go-to breakfast for me when I was living in Manchuria.) I hope you enjoy what resulted as much as I do!
