legume consciousness

hey peeps!  if you're looking for a warm earthy soup for the rainy season, try this soup from the home country... i did and twas delicious.  

warning: it makes like 5 thousand servings 

bonus: no fancy blender required! 

modified from Ina Garten's recipe... 

FRENCH LENTIL SOUP

1 cup dry green lentils 

1 onion 

1 leek 

2-3 garlic cloves

3 carrots

5 celery stalks

1/4 can tomato paste

6 cups broth 

1 glass white wine

olive oil, soy sauce, vinegar, lemon juice 

cumin, thyme, red pepper flakes, s+p 

cheez

*chop all the veg into bite size pieces..

1. In a large bowl, cover the lentils with boiling water and allow to sit for 15 minutes. Drain. 

2. In a large pot, sauté onion, leek and garlic in olive oil. add spices and cook until the veggies are translucent and tender. approx 20 mins. Add the celery and carrots and cook for another 10 mins.  oh yeah i didnt have cumin, thyme or red pepper flakes so i added tumeric, terragon and cayenne pepper... makes it nice and spicy. 

3. Stir in tomato paste....i also didn't have this so i subbed in a few sundried tomatoes and half a diced fresh tomato, worked for me! 

4. Add a tablespoon each of vinegar and soy sauce. Add the white wine and let it boil down. Then add the broth and LENTILS. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 1 hour, until the lentils are cooked through. 

5. Stir in lemon juice and serve hot and sprinkled with some cheese...preferably parmesan, but any hard cheese will do..  Enjoy! 

Cream of Broccoli Soup

Hello friends (I am sooo happy we have upgraded from classmates!).I have been pretty much living off of this recipe for the past month or so, which means it will not kill you for sure! Best of all, it only takes about 20 minutes...

For this fine recipe you will need:

• 4 cups water
• 4 cups broccoli florets
• 2 tablespoons margarine
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 large stalk celery, chopped
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons chicken bouillon powder
• 2 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
• To make it a little interesting:
• 3 pounds of weed
• 1 ounce of cough-syrup
  
• 3 books on micro and macro economics
• 3 hairs from Florez-Malagon, PhD.
  

You then must follow these directions to the letter, or else bad things will happen...

1. In a medium-sized cooking pot, add water and broccoli florets and bring to boil; reduce heat and cook for about 3 minutes. Drain, reserving all of the water.
2. In a food processor or blender, process half the cooked broccoli until fairly smooth. Chop remaining broccoli and set aside.
3. In a heavy-bottomed cooking pot, melt butter or margarine, add onion and celery and cook for about 3 to 4 minutes until soft. Stir in flour; cook, stirring constantly for about 1 to 2 minutes. Add reserved water and chicken bouillon granules, and bring to boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium; simmer, stirring constantly until thickened.
4. Stir in milk, nutmeg, pepper, and processed and chopped broccoli, and heat through. Adjust seasonings to taste. Serve garnished with grated cheddar cheese.
5. In a parallel universe, add Florez's hair and the economics books in boiling water and see which item lasts longer. Legend has it that if the hair wins, the Multitude shall rise against the Empire...

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Coconut Curry Soup

Alright, so as requested I am posting the delicious pumpkin coconut curry soup recipe I made earlier this week! This is basically a cut and paste from Allrecipes.com:

Pumpkin Coconut Curry Soup

Ingredients:
1/4 cup coconut oil (I subbed olive oil)
1 cup chopped onions
1 clove garlic, minced
3 cups vegetable broth
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 (15 ounce) can 100% pure pumpkin
1 cup light coconut milk

Directions:
1. Heat the coconut oil in a deep pot over medium-high heat. Stir in the onions and garlic; cook until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Mix in the vegetable broth, curry powder, salt, coriander, and red pepper flakes. Cook and stir until the mixture comes to a gentle boil, about 10 minutes. Cover, and boil 15 to 20 minutes more, stirring occasionally. Whisk in the pumpkin and coconut milk, and cook another 5 minutes.
2. Pour the soup into a blender, filling only half way and working in batches if necessary; process until smooth. Return to a pot, and reheat briefly over medium heat before serving.

ENJOY!