Red Lentil Veggie Soup

Last week Earthfare, had a 20% off coupon for all bulk items, so I used this opportunity to buy a bunch of stuff I’ve never bought before.  Fun fun!  One of these was red lentils, which I planned to use in a soup.  I’ve been on a soup kick lately.  It’s just so easy to make and then separate into individual containers for lunch.  Plus my office is super cold all year long, so it’s never too warm for soup, no matter what the season.

So red lentil soup was born, with a bit of inspiration from 101 Cookbooks, my go-to for inspiration.  Being true to my cooking style, all of these ingredients are guestimates seeing how I don’t typically measure when I’m making stuff up and not baking.

1 cup dried red lentils

6 cups stock (I used leftovers which include 2 cups veggie and 4 cups beef)

1 package frozen vegetables (mine included corn, carrots, green beans, and peas)

1/2 mas grande white onion chopped

1 whole shallot chopped finely

1/2 cup uncooked brown rice

1 tsp. fresh thyme

1 tbsp. finely chopped flat leaf parsley

1 tsp. red pepper flakes

salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

1 tbsp. olive oil

Saute onion and shallot in olive oil until softened and beginning to brown.  Meanwhile bring stock to a simmer.  Once onion and shallot are done, transfer to pot of stock.  Add the rest of the ingredients: lentils, veggies, herbs and seasonings.  Allow to simmer until rice and lentils are soft and soup has reached it’s desired consistency.  This took about 20-30 minutes for mine although I wasn’t timing it really.

I use the term “soup” loosely, because my soups always turn out super thick, more like a “stoup” as Rachel Ray would say.  I love them super thick.  I can eat most of my soups by scooping them up with a cracker because they are so wonderfully thick.

Eaten here in a orange plastic bowl, circa 1970 something from my grandmother’s house.  I borrowed this bowl back in college from my grandmother who would probably take a hit out on me if knew I had it.  She’s very protective of her plastic ware, which in the South we call “Tupperware”, no matter the brand.  At least, I think that’s a southern thing…kind of like how some people here call every carbonated drink “Coke” regardless of the actual brand or type of soda.  🙂

I topped it with a large dollop of plain yogurt and accompanied it with a herb salad mixed topped with avocado and a orange-lemon vinaigrette I made a week or so ago.  It’s basically equal parts orange juice and lemon juice (~1/8 cup), 1 tsp olive oil, and 1 tbsp red wine vinegar, which gives it a pretty peach colored hue. Also eaten were several Mary’s Gone Crackers, which I tried out for the first time this week and really like.  I bought the original flavor and their very crispy and nutty.

This soup is so yummy.  I have taken it to work for lunch for the past several days and always get questions about what I’m heating up in the microwave and comments that it smells delicious.

Tis a gift to be simple, tis a gift to eat brie

…taking you back to 6th grade chorus with this title.

I haven’t posted any breakfast eats in a while, and I’m not sure why, because breakfast is my most favorite part of the day.  In fact, its the only reason I get out of bed some mornings.  Last week I strayed from my usual oatmeal or smoothie in a bowl, and tried some different things with some organic Bosc pears, courtesy of TJ’s.

I’ve also been dreaming of brie lately, but never while at the grocery store, which was also remedied on a recent trip to TJ’s, mecca of all cheap delicious healthy food.  Eating brie solo is an acquired taste, but everyone can appreciate brie if it is paired properly.  Brie’s best friend, in my opinion is honey.  For a not so short time period in grad school, I regularly ate a brie, honey, and green apple sandwich on a daily basis.  Here is where the pear comes in.

Instead of green apple, I sliced up a small Bosc pear and put it on a brie smeared whole wheat wrap, drizzled with honey

Then I folded it over and browned it in a cast iron pan.  Cut it in half and ate it with a dollop of plain yogurt.  See the honey oozing out the side?

Crisping the wrap is an absolute must if you try this.  It kind of seals all the ingredients together.  Nothing is quite like Brie + something a little sweet.  In this case, the pear and honey were an excellent compliment.  This is a really simple and quick breakfast or lunch and was a nice change from the usual.

Another take on a homemade Lara bar

I’ve made these before and I liked them, but I wasn’t blown away.  For some reason this time, the stars aligned and the result was pure deliciousness.  Homemade Lara Bars are all over the healthy food blog community so if for some reason I have used the exact same recipe as someone else, it is purely by accident.

To make four of these round bars truffles, a la fudge baby shaped.  Insert into your food processor the following ingredients:

10 pitted dates

2 oz. salted cashews

1/4 cup organic finally shredded coconut

1/2 cap of vanilla – didn’t use actual tool of measurement, because that’s how I roll sometimes

2 level Tbsp. of cocoa

Process into mixture works itself into a ball.  Remove, separate into four equal-ish sections and roll into balls.  Wrap in plastic wrap and store in fridge.

I didn’t measure the cups or grams of dates, because I wasn’t sure how many I wanted to use.  I started off using six dates and added all of the rest of the ingredients.  Processed them and then tasted, decided it needed more dates, and continued until I had added 10 dates, writing down the ingredient list every step of the way.

Man, these little guys were delicious.  I had one the next day for a mid afternoon snack, saved one for Brad, and then packed them as an after dinner snack on our surprise anniversary car trip to Savannah, Ga.  Well, it was a surprise for me anyway.  I have the sweetest guy!  Almost as sweet as my homemade Lara Chocolate/coconut date truffles.