Friday, March 30, 2012

Pink Lentil Soup

51: CSA spring share pickup #1

So March flew by, eh? We had our first CSA pickup of the year, yaaaay!

44: Hot dog day!

We also ate our first grilled hot dogs of the year on an absolutely gorgeous 70 degree day in MARCH, which was kind of a big deal.

And then it got cold again, so I made lentil soup.

48: Lentil soup

Pink Lentil Soup
serves 4

2 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1-2 tablespoons harissa, depending on how much heat you want
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 pound crimson lentils (about 2 cups)
2 cups chicken stock
4 cups water
salt and pepper
lemon juice
kefir or yogurt for garnishing

Melt the butter in a medium pot over medium high heat. Sweat the onion until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes, then add the garlic and continue to cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the cumin and harissa and stir, then add the lentils and a hearty pinch of salt. Keep stirring. Toast the lentils in the butter this way for just a minute, then add the chicken stock and half the water. Let the soup come almost to a boil, then turn the heat to medium low and simmer for 25 minutes, or until the lentils are tender. As they cook, add some water to keep it at your desired consistency; you may not use all 4 cups, but I didn't want a super thick soup.

Once the lentils are cooked, season the soup to taste with lemon juice and plenty of salt and pepper (and maybe another dab of harissa?). Garnish with a swirl of kefir or a dollop of yogurt, and enjoy. This soup will keep in the fridge for most of the week, so you might even get some lunches out of it, woo!

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

30x30: Month One

Bookshelf before and after

Well, folks, we're one month in to my personal challenge of 30 things to get done by the time I'm 30.

Here's what I've done so far! That is to say, not much.

Culinary Projects: Nope, not a one.

Professional Projects: Um, yeah, none of these either.

Personal Projects: Finally, progress!
I've been going strong for a month with Project 365 and you can follow my photos in this set on Flickr. I'm trying not to be so serious about it this time around (see the weird/terrible photo I took on the bus the other day. It's literally of the seat in front of me) and I hope that makes it easier in the long run. I don't have to be a capital letters ARTIST every day, I just have to snap a photo. That said, I would like to improve, too.

And I've read four books (Best Food Writing 2010, Swamplandia!, A New Turn in the SouthA Game of Thrones), so I'm 13.33% done with my goal to read 30 books.

House Stuff: Two things accomplished, one on back order.
Top photo is a before & after of our living room bookshelf once we got all the dvds into a binder and recycled the cases. Hooray, less clutter! We started using natural cleaning supplies for the house (the all purpose cleaner and the grease cutter, though I think I'm going to keep using bleach if there's been raw chicken out on the counter). Also, a hamper for the bedroom is on back order but hopefully it will be here by next month's update.

Fitnessy Things: I did one chin-up! And then instead of falling off the bar I held on for a second, which I think counts as a fraction of chin-up number two.

Total Goals Met: 2. Ahem.