Make-Fast Mondays: Curried Red Lentil, Chickpea and Spinach Soup

Looking for a quick, vegetarian-friendly dinner that’s both filling and flavorful? Give this lentil soup a go.

Curried Red Lentil, Chickpea and Spinach Soup
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 tablespoons red curry paste
1 bay leaf
1 cup red lentils, rinsed
3 cups vegetable broth
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 cup reduced-fat coconut milk
2 cups chopped baby spinach
Salt, to taste
Chopped cilantro, for garnish

Heat oil in large pot. Add garlic and onion and sauté over medium for 5 minutes, until softened and fragrant. Add curry paste, bay leaf, lentils and broth to pot. Increase heat and bring to a boil, then bring the heat down to low, cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes, until lentils are tender. Stir in coconut milk and spinach. Simmer for a couple minutes until spinach is wilted. Season soup with salt, and garnish with cilantro before serving.

Golden Beet and Sunchoke Soup

Spring is in the air, skies are blue, the sun is shining … Yes, I know we’re all pumped for summer salads and barbecues, but how about a delicious bowl of soup before the weather heats up too much? This soup takes only about 30 minutes to make and is great when you’re craving a bowl of something hot and tasty that’s also veg-friendly and dairy-free.

Golden Beet and Sunchoke Soup 
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound golden beets, peeled and chopped
1 pound sunchokes (also called Jerusalem artichokes), peeled and chopped
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups (or more) vegetable broth
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon white pepper
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Shelled pumpkin seeds, toasted

Warm olive oil in soup pot over medium heat. Add beets, sunchokes, onion, garlic and salt and sauté for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 4 cups vegetable broth, nutmeg, white pepper and cayenne. Increase heat to high, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until the beets and sunchokes are tender, about 20-30 minutes. Working in batches, process the soup in a blender until smooth. Add more broth if you want to thin the soup a bit. Season with salt. Divide soup among bowls (yields 4-6 servings, depending on how hungry you are) and garnish with pumpkin seeds.

Suffering from kale fatigue? Change it up with chard

I can only eat so much kale. Yes, I know it's good for you for all kinds of reasons, but sometimes it just feels like tedious work. The next time you’re eyeing leafy greens at the farmers market or grocery store, grab a bunch of chard and give this hearty soup a try.

Sausage, Bean and Chard Soup 
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 medium yellow onion, diced
12 ounces smoked chicken sausage, sliced
2 cans Great Northern beans (or white beans of your preference)
3 cups chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1 bunch green chard, ribs removed, sliced into thin ribbons
Salt and pepper, to taste

Warm olive oil over medium heat in Dutch oven or other large pot. Add garlic and onion and cook for a minute or two, stirring occasionally. Add sausage to the pot and continue cooking for a couple more minutes. Increase heat and add broth, beans and bay leaf to pot. Bring contents to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 25 minutes. Remove bay leaf, stir in chard, cover and simmer until chard is soft, about five minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Sticking to resolution with superbly smoky soup

This is how Milk Pail Market, one of my favorite Mountain View grocery stores, encouraged visitors to kick off 2015:

That’s a resolution I can get behind every year, and sure enough I recently picked up some fantastic oak-smoked cheddar from these guys. Great on its own, but also quite delightful melted into this soup.

Smoky Cheddar Potato Soup 
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 red bell peppers, seeded and diced small, ¼ cup reserved
2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and diced
48 ounces vegetable broth
2 cups grated smoked cheddar
Salt and pepper, to taste

Warm olive oil in a large pot. Add garlic, onions, smoked paprika, cayenne and bell peppers and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 3-4 minutes. Increase heat, add potatoes and broth to pot, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Using a ladle or glass measuring cup, scoop three cups of soup into blender. Puree soup and stir back into the pot. Remove soup from heat and stir in cheese until it’s melted into the soup. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish each serving with a sprinkling of red bell pepper.

Make-Fast Mondays: Creamy Cilantro and White Bean Soup

Want a thick, creamy soup without adding any dairy? My favorite trick in the past has been to purée some, if not all of my ingredients, with our trusty Vitamix after everything’s had a chance to simmer. However, scooping steamy soup into a pitcher can be a bit hot and messy, so with this recipe I opted to purée before cooking. Less mess, and tossing the whole onion into the blender meant less time chopping. Piece of cake.

Creamy Cilantro and White Bean Soup 
4 15-ounce cans white beans, drained
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 large white onion
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons minced garlic 
1 teaspoon cumin
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Equipment: Blender 

Put two cans of beans, broth, onion and cilantro in blender pitcher, add lid, and blend ingredients until smooth. Heat olive oil in soup pot over medium flame. Add garlic and cook for a minute or two, until aromatic. Pour contents of pitcher and remaining beans into pot. Stir in cumin. Increase heat and bring soup to boil. Reduce heat, cover pot with lid and let soup simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper, as needed. Remove soup from heat and stir in the lime juice. Divide soup among four bowls and serve.

Feeding my cold with plenty of fluids

I’ve been under the weather for the past couple days. I try to consume as many fluids as possible in order to to stay hydrated, and I’ve got a few standard go-to comforts when I’ve come down with a cold -- brothy soups, Emergen-C and lots of hot tea (caffeine-free peppermint’s my favorite). Smoothies like this one are also pretty great, and I’m drinking this particular blend in hopes that it does keep the doctor away and that I’m back to good in no time.

An Apple a Day
1 Pink Lady apple, cored and sliced
1 cup frozen strawberries
1 cup coconut water

Combine all ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth.

Giving chicken soup a little kick

Homemade chicken soup is such a simply wonderful meal. It’s a great comfort when you’re under the weather, but a warm bowl full of chicken, broth and other goodies is delicious no matter how you feel. The next time you want a little twist on a traditional favorite, give this recipe a try.

Kickin’ Chicken and Rice Soup
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 large carrot, peeled and diced
2 celery stalks, ends removed, diced
1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 tablespoon Creole seasoning
1 cup dry white rice, rinsed
1 cup diced cooked chicken
1 cup (7-8 ounces) diced smoked sausage (I used one of these guys)
8 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons tomato paste
8 ounces large shrimp, butterflied and separated

Heat olive oil over medium heat in large, heavy pot. Add garlic, onion, carrots, celery and bell pepper and sautée for a couple minutes. Stir in Creole seasoning, rice, sausage and chicken and sautée for a couple more minutes. Add broth and tomato paste. Bring pot to boil and then reduce heat, allowing soup to simmer, covered, for 15 minutes, or until rice is cooked. Stir in shrimp, cover, and simmer for another five minutes, until shrimp is fully cooked.

Not-so-red lentils the base of spice-infused soup

I swear these lentils were red when I bought them. Granted, this delicious, spice-infused dish is nowhere near red in color, but I promise, it does contain tons of red lentils, garam masala and all kinds of other goodies that make it worth a try.

Not-So-Red Lentil Soup with Shrimp 
2 cups dried red lentils
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large white onion, diced
1 large carrot, peeled and diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 teaspoons garam masala spice mix
2 teaspoon smoked paprika, divided
2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 14-ounce can light coconut milk
1 14.5-ounce can petite diced tomatoes with liquid
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 pound large raw shrimp, peeled, deveined and tails removed
Cilantro, for garnish

Put lentils in a bowl and fill with enough water to cover lentils with an inch or two of water. Soak lentils for an hour before draining and rinsing.

Heat oil in large, heavy pot over medium heat. Add garlic, onion and carrot, sautéeing for a couple minutes. Stir in garam masala, tomato paste, salt and one teaspoon smoked paprika and cook for another minute or two. Add lentils, coconut milk, tomatoes and broth to pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and allow soup to simmer, covered, for 30 minutes or until lentils and vegetables are tender. Remove from heat.

Put shrimp in non-stick frying pan and dust with remaining teaspoon of smoked paprika. Cook at high heat for a couple minutes on each side until shrimp are fully cooked.

Ladle lentils into soup bowls, top with four shrimp and cilantro sprigs, and serve.

A soup with plenty of spuds and spice

We’re not big potato eaters but every once in awhile I’ll spot a ginormous bag of spuds at the grocery store, see that it costs mere pennies, and before you know it I’ve hoisted a bag into my cart.

This is what happened during my most recent trip to the supermarket, when I spent a whopping $2 on 10 pounds of white potatoes (this soup was the result of my last cheap-as-dirt potato deal). I also picked up some end-of-season corn for 25 cents per ear.

It’s finally cooling down and feeling like fall, and these super-cheap ingredients were the basis of one of the first of many soups and stews I plan to make in the coming months. I like the sweet flavors of the corn and the cooked red onion mixed with a little bit of kick from the jalapeno, diced green chiles and cumin.

Spiced Potato and Corn Soup
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large jalapeno, seeds removed, diced
1 medium red onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons cumin
2 pounds white potatoes, cleaned and cut into small cubes
2 ears of corn, husked, kernels cut from cobs
7 cups chicken broth
4 oz. can diced green chiles
Salt and pepper, to taste
Green onion, for garnish

Warm oil in a large heavy pot. Add jalapenos, red onion, garlic and cumin and cook mixture, stirring occasionally, for just a couple minutes. Add potatoes, corn and broth to pot, cover pot and bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Use two-cup glass measuring cup to scoop six cups of soup into blender. Puree soup mixture and pour back into the pot. Stir in the green chiles and simmer for just a couple more minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Finding redemption after shopping on autopilot

Do you ever find yourself bumbling through a supermarket on autopilot, not really considering what goes into the shopping cart until you’re unloading it at the cash register?

This is what happens when I shop in zombie mode:

Yup, that’s a ridiculously small portion of dry multi-bean mix. I spotted these beans in the bulk bins a while back and thought it would be a good idea to bring some home for a future soup recipe. The problem is that I wasn’t thinking of how many beans should probably go into this soup, and I only bought about a cup of mixed beans. Ridiculous! Luckily I had plenty of dried pintos and lentils to mix in with the aforementioned sad scoop of beans. Throw the hodge podge into a pot with some veggies and spicy sausage and boom, you’ve got a delicious, filling soup for the masses.

You can prepare dry beans for a recipe like this a couple different ways. One option is to soak the beans in water overnight. What I did, because I forgot to soak my beans, is go with a “quick soak” method by putting the bean mix in a large pot, adding enough water to cover the beans with a couple inches of water, and bringing the pot to a boil. After a couple minutes of rolling boil, you can remove the pot from heat and let the beans sit, uncovered, for an hour before draining. Either method will get you beans that are ready to be cooked. And no matter which method you employ, be sure to rinse the beans prior to soaking and pick out any stones or bad beans.

Bean Bonanza Soup 
2 cups mixed dry beans, soaked, drained and rinsed
32 ounces low-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon olive oil
28 oz can stewed tomatoes with liquid
2 cups andouille sausage links
1 white onion, diced
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced celery
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon dried oregano
Salt and pepper, to taste

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add garlic, onion, carrots, celery,oregano and bay leaves. Sauté for a couple minutes before adding sausage to pot and sautéeing for a couple more minutes. Add tomatoes to the pot, using hands to crush tomatoes. Stir in beans and broth and bring to a boil before reducing heat. Allow pot to simmer, covered, for 30-60 minutes, until beans are tender. Remove bay leaves before serving soup.

Meat-free month good way to start 2012

“Why would you do that?” is the typical reaction I’ve received when telling people that I was giving up meat for 28 days. 

Cutting meat out of our diet for 28 days (Chris and I kicked it off January 4 so as not to waste already-prepared meat dishes in the fridge) felt like a good way to kick off 2012, to repent for some of the overindulging that happened during the holiday season, to test myself in the kitchen.

We don’t eat a lot of meat to begin with, and definitely don’t keep a lot of it in the house, but it’s still been a fun challenge to find veg-friendly recipes and to stick to the meatless entrées at restaurants. 

I must confess that neither of us get a 100 percent for sticking to the meat-free diet -- we both put the diet on a one-meal hold for Chris’ work holiday party at the ever-delicious Hawks -- but I’m still proud of what we’ve done over the past couple weeks. We’ve definitely gone through a lot more vegetables, and I’ve spent more time menu planning in order to waste less produce. I made my own vegetable stock, brought barley and quinoa home for the first time, and have consumed more tofu in the last month than I probably did in 2011.

I’d be lying if I told you I wasn’t looking forward to Feb. 1 and the promises of cheeseburgers, deli sandwiches and chicken enchiladas it brings, but I’m still happy with how our meat-free month turned out.

As previously mentioned, I finally got around to buying barley this month, which I used to make this super-hearty soup (recipe adapted from Epicurious) that would be perfect for a frosty winter's day. 

Mushroom Barley Soup
1oz. dried chanterelles (I used Fungus Amongus)
2 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, chopped
2 ribs celery with leaves, diced
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
12 ounces fresh cremini mushrooms
6-7 cups vegetable broth
2 cups whole barley
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper, to taste

Soak the dried mushrooms in at least 2 cups hot water, to cover, for 30 minutes. Strain through a filter and reserve 2 cups of the mushroom water. Coarsely chop the dried mushrooms.

Melt the butter in a large pot (I used my Le Creuset Dutch oven) and sauté the onion, celery, carrot, garlic, thyme and fresh mushrooms until soft, about 5 minutes. Add vegetable broth and barley, reserved mushroom water and bay leaf to the pot and bring to a boil. Stir well and add salt and pepper to taste. 

Simmer, covered, for 45-60 minutes, stirring occasionally, until barley is tender and soup thickens. Remove bay leaf and season with adjust seasonings to your liking.

Crafting something special out of cabbage craving

 They were practically giving away cabbage last month just in time for St. Patrick’s Day. It got me thinking about how I could go for a plate heaped high with cabbage rolls, the kind stuffed with ground meat, rice and all kinds of savory herbs and covered with a tangy tomato sauce. This soup is inspired by my craving. Think of it as a broth-y deconstruction of that delicious dish. Cabbage makes for a great soup ingredient — it doesn’t take long to cook, and it seems to hold up pretty well in hot pot.

A note on the rice — I used converted brown rice because I already had some in the cabinet due to a recipe I tried out a while back. I imagine 3/4 cups cooked rice, stirred in with the cabbage, would also work.

Stuffed Cabbage Soup
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound ground turkey
8 cups chicken broth
½ cup converted brown rice
1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes
2 cups shredded green cabbage
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper, to taste

Combine onion, garlic and ground turkey in large soup pot. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until meat is brown. Add thyme, oregano and parsley and cook for another minute before adding broth, rice, tomatoes and Worcestershire sauce to pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, stir in cabbage and cover, simmering for a few minutes until cabbage is tender. Season with salt and pepper.

An ever-evolving soup recipe

Sunset Magazine recently featured some chicken soup recipes that looked mighty tasty, including one for Italian Chicken Sausage and Artichoke Soup. 

The shopping list is pretty simple — sausage, some broth, chard, a pound of artichoke hearts and Parmesan cheese.

How I did it:
I made some changes based on the fact that I only wanted to hit one grocery store on my way home from work. Trader Joe’s had most of what the recipe called for, with the exception of chard, so I bought a one-pound bag of their pre-cut Southern greens instead.

The original recipe also suggests starting with two tablespoons olive oil, and adding the sausage to the pot once the oil is heated. The sausage I used yielded a lot of fat once cooked, which I drained, so I don’t really think starting the recipe off with oil is necessary.

1 pound chicken Italian sausage, casings removed
8 cups chicken broth
12-ounce bag frozen artichoke hearts
8 ounces (half bag) Southern greens blend
2 cloves garlic, minced

Cook sausage and garlic in large pot over medium-high heat until browned, stirring often, about 10 minutes. Drain fat from pot. Add broth and artichoke hearts. Bring to a boil and add greens. Cover pot, reduce to a simmer and cook until greens are soft, which will take a few minutes (the chard the original recipe calls for will probably wilt faster than the heartier greens I used).

How I’ll do it next time:
I really like tangy twist the artichoke hearts give this soup, and the sausage was good too. I’d change things up a bit by using baby spinach instead, anywhere from 8 ounces to a pound, stirred in just a minute before the soup’s served. I’d also thicken the broth up. Two eggs and two tablespoons grated Parmesan whisked together in a bowl and then stirred into the soup should do the trick.

Je t'aime Le Creuset

Out of all the wonderful gifts I received this holiday season, one of my favorites is a lovely Le Creuset Dutch oven.

This is some serious kitchen hardware. We’re talking about 7 ¼ quarts of enameled cast-iron wonder. The sky’s the limit as far as what I can cook in this ocean-colored beauty.

I’ve been scouring my cookbooks and the Internet for recipes, but before I get to braising all kinds of other delicious fun I thought I’d ease into it and get to know the Le Creuset by making a big hearty pot of soup.

Hearty Sausage and Kale Soup
14 ounce lean smoked turkey sausage, sliced
1 teaspoon olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch kale, washed, patted dry and cut into ribbons
9 cups low-sodium chicken broth
28 ounce can diced tomatoes, with juices
2 14.5-ounce cans white beans, rinsed and drained
1 tablespoon dried minced onion
1 teaspoon Creole seasoning
3 sprigs rosemary and 2 sprigs oregano, tied together with string
Salt and pepper, to taste

Cook sausage over medium heat in Dutch oven for a couple minutes, until hot. Remove from pot and place in bowl. Warm olive oil in pot and add garlic, cooking for a minute or two and stirring occasionally, until aromatic.
Add broth, tomatoes, Creole seasoning, minced onions, beans, rosemary and oregano. Cover and let cook for at least 30 minutes.
Stir in kale and sausage. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes, until kale is soft. Remove rosemary and oregano before serving soup.

A hearty soup fit for fall

Fall in Sacramento is a bit screwy. Although October showed signs of change in the form of a couple gray, rainy days, we’ve had highs in the 70-on-up range this week. But hey, the leaves are changing colors, the sycamore’s starting to make a mess of the front yard, and there’s still a nip in the air when you walk out to your car in the morning. Squirrel away this recipe for a rainy day, or just bust it out the next time you’re craving some hearty soup and a big slice of French bread.

Sausage, potato and kale soup
1 pound sweet turkey Italian sausage, casings removed
1 white onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
3 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and diced small
10 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 bunch kale, washed, leaves sliced thin
Salt and pepper, to taste
Grated Parmesan (optional)

Brown sausage in a soup pot, remove and set aside. Add garlic and onions to pot, stirring occasionally over medium heat, for a couple minutes so the pot is nice and fragrant. Add oregano and stir for another minute or so before adding broth and potatoes. Bring pot to a boil and then drop heat to a medium flame, cooking potatoes until they’re soft. Use potato masher if you want smaller potato chunks. Add kale to pot -- it should only take two or three minutes to cook. Add sausage to pot, stir, and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle soup with Parmesan, if desired, and serve with French bread.

Potatoes, broccoli stars of this creamy, steamy concoction

I scored 10 pounds of russet potatoes for a whopping 97 cents at the supermarket, have a fridge full of veggies and had a craving for some creamy-yet-somewhat-healthy soup that wasn’t going to take all day to make. Here’s what I came up with.

Creamy Broccoli Potato Soup
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, sliced
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon thyme
½ teaspoon marjoram
2 pounds potatoes, peeled and diced small
9 cups low-sodium chicken broth
3 cups broccoli florets, fine chop
Four slices turkey bacon, chopped and fried

Equipment: blender

Heat olive oil in soup pot over medium flame. Add onions and cook for a couple minutes, until fragrant and slightly translucent. Add celery, garlic powder, thyme and marjoram and sauté for another minute or so. Add broth and potatoes to pot. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer for roughly 30 minutes, or until potatoes are cooked. Add broccoli to pot and cook for a couple minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove soup from heat. Pour soup into pitcher, cover with lid and blend momentarily, just long enough to result in a smooth, even consistency with minimal chunks. Pour soup into bowls, garnish with a pinch of bacon crumbles, and serve.

Ham, beans, cabbage all stars in this hearty soup

Runner’s World has a feature, The Athlete’s Palate, which I quite enjoy.

Each month you get a different recipe from a cookbook authors and chefs who just happen to also be runners, triathletes and the like.

I recently made a soup with all kinds of goodies — diced ham, cannellini beans, chopped cabbage — based on a recipe ripped out of a back issue. I used less cabbage, added dried oregano (I love it in practically any dish) and used turkey ham because of my aversion to most pork products. Also, I used baby carrots where the recipe called for large carrots just because of what was already in the fridge.

The soup was quite hearty, and was speedy enough for a weeknight meal.

Ham, Cabbage and White Bean Soup
Adapted from Runner’s World
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced small
1 ½ teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon dried oregano
12 baby carrots, chopped
2 cups chopped green cabbage
3 cups ham, diced small
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
2 15-ounce cans cannellini beans
Salt and pepper, to taste

Heat oil over medium-high in soup pot. Add onion and sauté until soft and golden, roughly five minutes. Add Italian seasoning and oregano and stir until fragrant, about a minute. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover pot and simmer until vegetables are cooked, 10-15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, and serve.

Soup for a winter’s night

It’s been quite windy, rainy and generally nasty the past couple days. This dreary weather calls for soup!

This was my first attempt at making minestrone, and I’m pleased with how it turned out. I just kind of picked out what I wanted in a soup, and am calling it minestrone because it sounded good when I was at the grocery store.

Midweek Minestrone
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 white onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 zucchini, quartered lengthwise and chopped
3 cups chopped green chard
7 cups beef broth (4 14-ounce Swanson’s cans did the trick)
1 cup small shell pasta
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 14-ounce cans diced tomatoes in liquid
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper, to taste
Grated Parmesan, for garnish

Heat olive oil in large pot over medium heat, and add garlic, stirring 1-2 minutes before adding onions. Stir another minute before adding carrots, celery, zucchini, Italian seasoning and bay leaf. Sauté vegetables for 4-5 minutes before adding chard to the pot. Stir another minute or two before adding broth, tomatoes, beans and pasta. Cover, and allow to simmer for 20-30 minutes, until pasta and vegetables are tender. Ladle soup into bowls, sprinkle with Parmesan and serve.

Hearty lentil soup perfect for a stormy night

I don’t know why I ever found soup intimidating.

I’ve only attempted a few pots on my own, but every time, I’m amazed by how easy it is to make soup, and how flavorful the end result turns out.

Friday’s gray, stormy conditions were perfect soup weather, so I decided to give lentil soup a go. I bought the kielbasa and lentils a few days ago — Winco’s bulk food bins are my new best friend, I think a pound of lentils cost me 70 cents — and put post-stuffing vegetables to good use. The choice in herbs was based solely on what’s in my spice cabinet at the moment.

This recipe resulted in a pretty hefty pot of soup (maybe 8 large servings), so some of the leftovers went into the freezer for a future stormy night.

Hearty Lentil Soup with Kielbasa
2 ½ cups dry lentils
10 cups chicken broth
14 oz. kielbasa, cut into slices
1 ½ cups chopped carrots
1 ½ cups chopped celery
2 medium white onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon Herbes de Provence
3 bay leaves
1 tablespoon olive oil

Heat olive oil in large pot over medium heat. Add garlic, onions, celery and carrots and sauté vegetables for roughly 5 minutes, or until they soften slightly. Add kielbasa and herbs to pot, stirring with vegetables for 2-3 minutes, and then add lentils, broth and bay leaves. Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer until lentils are soft (in my case, this was roughly 30-40 minutes).

Toasty sandwich is easy and cheesy

Between tackling a hefty grocery list and a do-or-die mission to find all the components for my Halloween costume (Cleopatra) I didn’t get home until after 8 Thursday night. Not wanting to spend much time in the kitchen, I opted for a tasty sandwich-and-soup combo.

Earlier that day Saveur Magazine posted a tempting Tweet about a grilled cheese sandwich featuring smoked gouda, bacon and apples (featured at the fun food blog, Gimme Some Oven).I’ve been wanting to make a Brie-L-T for a while, a BLT with some gooey brie to sweeten the deal, and I think my sandwich is a melding of these two ideas.

I threw two strips of turkey bacon — I prefer Butterball — into the frying pan, and I popped two slices of sourdough in the toaster. The crispy bacon went on the toasted slices, along with a few green apple slices and a healthy smear of brie. A few minutes of medium heat and the sandwich was ready to go.

The sandwich had a great diversity of flavors and texture, and tasted great when dipped in a bowl of Trader Joe’s Tomato and Roasted Red Pepper Soup, which I like spiced up with a little bit of Cholula hot sauce.

Next time I make this sandwich, it’ll also get a little bit of whole-grain Dijon mustard, as the bread was a just a little dry (I’m not a fan of buttering bread when making grilled-cheese sandwiches).