For breakfast we went with yerba maté instead of instant coffee: 3 rounded scoops in the press makes 2 fairly hearty presses. Also I went with (*gasp*) assorted muffins instead of banana-nut last time I shopped, so I had a chocolate-chip muffin with ~2 tbsp peanut butter. 2 presses of yerba maté is a very suitable substitute for antidepressants without the (a)sexual side effects. Between home and teh oroffice I hit the treadmill for 2.5mi: 1mi at 5.1, 1-lap cooldown, repeat and hit the shower. There was no lunch; this brings us to dinner, and much as I lust for pizza the hutt ersatz pizza, I can't quite bring myself to such gastric self-abuse. The leftover lentils, maybe 1/5th of the 1.5-cup dry batch, were not much of a meal, so I'm squeezing in a 5-bean recipe batch with Vendange merlot (13.5% ABV * 1500mL / $6.99 = 28.97 bodine value).

The original plan was to use up the last of the Turning Leaf cab', but a) that would leave me only the unopened 750ml pinot grigio for sipping... bad plan... and b) I never did get around to doing the 5-bean recipe with merlot, and I wouldn't rest easy until I tested it. Also I just wasn't particularly impressed with the Turning Leaf cab sauv. It wasn't bad but for the price, I just think the Little Penguin was tastier.

Been a looong time since the bottom-dollar merlots crossed my palate, and it turns out the Vendange is a contender against the pricier Little Penguin. The label doesn't show a vintage year, which might suggest something snarky about the quality - but I don't care, I think they fulfilled the label's mission statement of "approachable with a true varietal character".

"Sort" 1/3 cup each of non-lentil beans; rinse and drain 2 passes in cool water; bring to a boil in 2 cups water with a few shakes lite salt; let boil ~2 minutes; remove from heat and let cool/soak at least an hour.

Gently mix in 1.5-2 tbsp olive oil, a couple more shakes lite salt, 1 cup each frozen broccoli cuts crowns and chopped spinach, 2/3 cups lentils, 1 cup water and 1+1/3 cups wine (Vendange merlot). Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer low ~30 minutes.

Somebody didn't actually set a timer to know when 30 minutes was up. Tsk, tsk. After the last no-broccoli lentil experiment and now this dish with the full charge of broccoli, it's established that broccoli is the foundation of the dish's aroma. Wine rounds it out and each varietal lends unique notes, but it all falls flat without broccoli.