Monday, January 28, 2013

Winter Lentil Soup

Source: Real Simple

Last night I had the house to myself and that's when I'm most comfortable trying new recipes.  If I mess up I can always have a bowl of cereal when I'm home alone.  If Stephen is home and I mess something up I feel awful, so trying new things becomes much more stressful.  (However, I do enjoy having him there with me when I'm cooking for reassurance when I try something new.  I sound crazy.)

This soup is called the Winter Lentil Soup from RealSimple.com.  When I read the recipe I was a little nervous because I've never cooked with lentil, leeks or kale.  Typically that alone would immediately make me skip the soup, but I love a good veggie soup and I wanted to try to find one that could become a staple in our house during the colder months.

I followed the directions with a few minor adjustments after reading a few of the comments.

  • I added some extra lentils, probably 3/4 of a cup instead of 1/2 a cup
  • I added the kale 15 minutes into cooking the lentil.  My publix also doesn't sell kale in bunches, it is already chopped up in a bag - I used about 5 handfuls.  I have no idea how close that is to what I should have used.
  • I didn't drain the tomatoes before adding them, I wanted to keep some of that tomato juice in the broth after I added the water
  • I didn't top with cheese
Overall, the soup was a huge success.  I even got seconds.  I had two servings last night and we have 4 servings for leftovers, so I'd say it serves 6, maybe 7 depending on any side dishes.  Each serving is 226 calories, and that is including the cheese.  I don't feel bad at all for having 2 servings!

Give it a try.  Now that I've cooked with lentils, kale and leeks I can say that there was never anything to be afraid of in the first place.  This is such a good vegetarian soup!

Friday, January 18, 2013

2013 Resolutions

Wow - I haven't posted in a very long time.  To anyone out there who has missed my posts, I apologize!

We are 18 days into 2013, but it's better late than never: Here are my 2013 Resolutions.

  1. Run 10 miles a week
  2. Hike Half Dome in Yosemite National Park
  3. Finally hit a 10 minute mile running pace
  4. Read 12 books
  5. Visit all 3 of my sisters
I'm always working towards being more patient.  I think that's my biggest character flaw.  I get frustrated very easily.  And God forbid if something doesn't go according to plan, sometimes I don't know how to handle it.  But I'm aware of these "traits" and I'm working on making them better.

What are some of your resolutions for 2013?  Big plans for the new year?