lentil soup
October 29, 2012
Posted By: Shaunescy
Yesterday I wrote about how to make Easy French Bread and today I have a guest blog from Adrienne Schroeder who writes theveggiehouse.blogspot.com . Adrienne is a mother of three (vegetarian) children who loves to create simple, healthy meals for her family. She is also a local photographer whose work has been published in Montana Parent, Mothering and Parenting magazines and can be seen at www. adrienneschroederphotography. com.
Lentil Soup
7 ingredients: gluten free
1 32oz box of veggie broth
1 cup of dry lentils
1 3 or 4 oz block of feta cheese
half a cup of chopped celery
half a cup of chopped carrots
1-2 shallots (or you could use about a quarter cup of red chopped onions)
2-3 chopped tomatoes
I had a plan to start my lentil soup in the crockpot this morning. I love my crockpot. I put all the ingredients in and at the end of the day I come home from picking my daughter up from school and the house smells awesome and I realize, oh yeah! My crockpot made dinner for me! I love that thing. But today got away from me...My one year old isn't sleeping well lately, which means I'm really not sleeping well. So I was pretty unproductive this morning and around lunch time I decided I could just run into Target with my one and three year old, really quickly, for like two things. Rookie mistake.
It must have been the lack of sleep. By the time we got to the register, only about 15 min. after we got there, my three year old was full on scream-crying because I wouldn't get her a lollipop with a fan on it (wtf is that anyway?) and my one year old was about 2 seconds away from laying on his back on the floor for his tantrum, caused by the fact that I wouldn't buy him candy at the register. And I swear to you at that moment the 18 year old girl ringing me up said "how are you doing today?"
So I practically threw my credit card at her with one hand, and scooped up my one year old with the other. But he didn't want to be picked up so he immediately went limp and put his arms above his head to try and slide out of my arms. (They're born knowing how to do that.) But all his sliding pushed his shirt and coat all the way up so that his entire tiny torso was exposed. I can't believe I'm that scene at the store.
I did manage to get us all safely to the car at which time I realized that when his coat was up around his neck, the zipper must have cut him a little because his neck was bleeding. His neck! But he's fine now, just a drop of blood, very superficial wound. I hate going to Target.
But back to the lentil soup. I'm so glad that's what's for dinner. I love a really hearty, warming soup in the winter. So after the Target debacle, I came home and started the soup in a pot on the stove. I have to watch it more but it will cook way faster than the crockpot and we'll still be able to have it for dinner.
It's a healthy, comfort food that I really need today. A friend of mine just told me a "secret" ingredient she uses in her lentil soup to make it extra rich; she puts in a 3 or 4 oz block of feta cheese while it's cooking. It's amazing, but if you want to avoid the dairy this soup is great without the cheese as well.
Another option is adding a spoonful or two of tahini (crushed sesame seeds) which helps thicken up the soup and make it rich while still being dairy free). I usually serve this with good bread or gluten free crackers.
~Adrienne Schroeder
