Pink Lentil Soup

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



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.



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!

Last Gasps of Summer: Hot Dog Party!

Adam's birthday is at the end of August. It falls right around Labor Day and Boston's unofficial everyone-switch-apartments day but we usually squeeze in a get together. This year instead of a cookout, we had a hurricane tropical storm. Irene wasn't really so bad in our neck of the woods, we just sat on the couch and played a lot of cribbage. It felt like something was missing, though, so on Labor Day we had a little cookout.

We decided that instead of burgers and chicken and blah blah blah we'd keep the grilling focused on my personal favorite grilled food: the hot dog. (Let's be honest, hot dogs are up there in my top 5 favorite foods in all the land.) So to keep things interesting I went a little crazy on the condiments. Instead of a proper recipe today, I present several suggestions for awesome hot dogs.

The German Dog: homemade sauerkraut, whole grain mustard
The Kimchi Dog: chopped kimchi, sriracha if you're feeling spicy
The Chicago Dog: yellow mustard, sliced tomato, celery salt, kosher dill pickle spear, pickled banana peppers, chopped raw onion
The Nacho Dog: salsa (red or green, your choice), pickled jalapenos, monterey jack cheese, sour cream. If your husband happened to make corn tortillas for breakfast that morning, use one of those instead of a bun.
The Everything Dog: All of the above. Yeah, that happened.
The Classic: Yellow Mustard. Maybe relish.
The NIMBY: Ketchup. I didn't even put it out.

So, what do you put on your hot dog? 

What to eat while camping.

When camping, it is very important to bring friends who like shitty beer, pithy t-shirts, and travel Scrabble. 




It is also important to be open minded when confronted with a person whose approach to certain campfire cooking methods may be different from yours.





I suggest bringing along a pup for company if you can, or barring dog ownership (sad face), you should track down a friend with a lapdog. 





You should also bring your friend who likes fishing but doesn't really like fish. Ideally she would have two different tackle boxes but only bring the fresh water box. 





Then, while reading an excellent book, come across a passage about the author's mother's bacon-wrapping phase. Read aloud the sentence about stuffing hotdogs with cheese before wrapping them in bacon. Consensus of your fellow campers will be: yes, try this.





Find some plump dogs in the cooler (Nathan's are a delightful weiner, but too skinny for this particular application. These, I believe, are store brand), then, using that handy little knife with a sheath that you always bring out to the kitchen-in-the-woods, slice it most of the way through.





Fold a slice of American cheese in half, then fold one half in half again. Stuff this folded half-slice into the slit you've made. 





In order to thwart the oozing of the cheese over the fire, wrap the stuffed hot dog in bacon. 





Skewer twice, for easier flipping, and cook to desired doneness over a fire built from logs you chopped apart with someone's dad's old hatchet. Note: it's ok to have a camp-mate do all the chopping, you're busy wrapping things in bacon. 





Make sure you leave a few of the batch on the less crispy side, for those who side with Team Floppy Bacon. Stuff into a bun and add mustard if that's your style. Forget to take a picture of the final product, because you're too busy chewing.