Winter is coming

At least it's soup/stew season?

Here's an easy and satisfying option courtesy of Melissa Clark. Even for leftovers the orzo never felt too mushy. Hot, light and full of vegetables! Plus cheese obviously. 

 

Chickpea Stew with Orzo and Greens

Ingreeds:

-2 tbs evoo

-2 medium carrots, chopped

-1 fennel bulb (or celery stalks if you don't love yourself), chopped

-1 medium onion, chopped

-2 garlic cloves, minced (never a mistake to add more)

-red pepper flakes to taste

-2 tsps fresh rosemary, chopped (didn't add this because it was raining outside and I was too lazy. lemon-thyme was closer so added that)

-2 cups broth or water 

-1 15oz can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

-3/4 cup chopped cherry toms

-1/2 cup orzo

-a bunch of greens (kale, spinach)

-salt and pep

-scallions, chopped

-lots of finely grated parm 

 

Step 1:

Heat the evoo over medium-high in a large pot. Add chopped carrots, fennel, and onion. Cook about 5-7 minutes until tender. Add garlic, red-pepper flakes, rosemary (if using) and cook for another few minutes. Pour in broth/water, plus 2 additional cups of water and bring to a boil.

 

Step 2:

Once boiling, add chickpeas, tomatoes and orzo. I'd add some salt here as well. Reduce to a simmer and cover. Simmer for 10 minutes or until the orzo is tender. Uncover and stir in greens (do this earlier if using kale) and simmer about 2 minutes until soft.

 

Step 3:

Add more water if you prefer more of a soup, and season with salt and pep. Ladle into bowls and top with scallions and parm. A drizzle of olive won't hurt either.

aubergine daal

hello! this is fancypants' sister, doorpants.

last night i made a delicious DAAL with my roommates for our weekly documentary sunday. we watched 20 feet from stardom which is about some ballin' and enthrallin' back-up singers (mostly women) in the music biz. i wish i could sing.

the daal recipe is courtesy of one mr. jamie oliver and fancypants recommended i share it here. you can do it on the cheap and it is very warming and hearty. perfect for cold, wintry nights. i subbed cauliflower and zucchini for eggplant because that's what was in my fridge - i'm sure it'd be delicious either way. also didn't have some ingredients to make the chapatis or the crispy topping but if you want to you can find the instructions in the original version of the recipe.

Ingredients:
- 1 large aubergine or 1 head of cauliflower and 1 zucchini
- 1.5 red onions
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 2 thumb-sized pieces of ginger
- 5 tb curry paste
- vegetable oil
- 500 grams yellow split peas
- 1 veg or chicken stock cube
- basmati or brown rice

Method:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
- Cut up your eggplant/cauliflower into chunks, peel and slice the onions and garlic, peel and finely grate the ginger
- Put this all into a large roasting tray with the curry paste and a lug of oil, toss until well coated, then roast for 20-25 minutes or until sticky and caramelized (takes longer with cauliflower then eggplant I believe)
- Chop up the zucchini and set aside
- Remove 3/4 of the roasted veg and put in a pot to start your daal, return the remaining veggies to the oven to keep warm (turn off the oven so that they don't dry out)
- Place the pot on a low heat and stir in the split peas, crumble in the stock cube, toss in the zucchini, and add 2 litres of boiling water
- Simmer for around 1hr30mins with the lid on, or until the daal has really thickened, stirring occasionally and especially during the end so it don't stick to da bottom of da pot
- Add splashes of water to loosen if needed
- While the daal is cooking, put 1 mug of rice and 2 mugs of water into a pot and cook dat shiettt up
- When everything is finished, load up your plate with some rice, some daal, and garnish with the remaining roasted veggies from the oven
- Top with greek yogurt, hot sauce, cilantro, etc.

Original recipe: http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables-recipes/aubergine-daal/#7YUY6tj5si7RxU5O.97

:):) 

Egg Drop Soup with Noodles

Hey Kitchenettes,

Loved this one because I never end up cooking these tastes and was frankly surprised I could reproduce them in my (dirty, dirty) kitchen. Simple comfort food at its best. Think you could add some light veggies in too, if you're looking to beef up the veggie content (that's right).



You need

• 5 cups chicken stock, or 4 cups chicken broth plus 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons medium-dry Sherry
• 1 (2-inch) piece fresh ginger, thinly sliced
• 1 garlic clove, smashed
• 1 cup dried fine egg noodles (1 oz)
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 to 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Asian sesame oil, or to taste

You do


Bring stock, soy sauce, Sherry, ginger, and garlic to a boil in a 2-quart heavy saucepan. Remove ginger and garlic with a slotted spoon and discard. Stir in noodles and simmer, uncovered, until tender, about 4 minutes. Stirring soup in a circular motion, add eggs in a slow, steady stream. Simmer, undisturbed, until strands of egg are cooked, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in scallions (to taste) and sesame oil. Season with salt.




With thanks to Gourmet/Epicurious


Love, Prof. TT

Carrot Ginger Orange Soup

C is for Kitchen friends!

Hoping for a year full of posting, I will begin with this simple carrot, ginger, and orange soup!

You will need, about

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large red onion, chopped
4 cups carrots, chopped
2 tsp grated or minced ginger
2 cups vegetable stock
2 cups water
1 cup orange juice
salt & pepa

Use a big saucepan to melt butter and heat olive oil. Add onions and carrots and saute for about 4 minutes. Add ginger and cook for 2 more.

Add stock, water, orange juice. Bring to a boil. Lower heat to simmer. When carrots are soft (thirty minutes or so) take it off the stove to cool for a second, or don't, then use an immersion blender or a regular blender and blend to the texture of your dreams! Reheat it, season with salt and pepper, and there you go! So delicious and easy!

You can also garnish with yogurt and parsley or cilantro if you are inspired.

It also goes delightfully with this easy recipe for homemade six-seed soda bread:
http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/sixseed-soda-bread-recipe.html

Oxtail Stew

Okay Folks,

This is a serious one. This is ideal if you are unemployed, underemployed, self-employed, or if you spend a lot of time at home for some other reason. It is also good if you are low on cash and have a desire to eat delicious that falls off the bone. This is a good one for getting in touch with the animal spirits. The ingredients are quite flexible, but the proportions and fundamentals are important.

Cooking Time: 2 Days, ideally.
Portions: a small hungry army

Ingredients:

Ox-tail

• You can buy this from an "ethnic" butcher of some sort, search it out, not always in stock. Make this stew when you find it being sold somehwere. You can freeze it and thaw it for later use. Seize the day. It is usually relatively inexpensive, as far a meat goes.
• It is also possible to substitute the meat with another kind, and keep the same idea, but . . . . alas you can not tell people you are making "ox-tail." A good substitution would be stew beef with the bone in or lamb shoulder cut up into chunks. If you are using beef or lamb of a stewing nature, reduce the simmering time to something more like 1.5 or 2 hours. You want the meat to fall off the bone, but you do not want to destroy the meat itself. There is such thing as too much of a good thing, even when that thing is slow cooking.
• You'll find ox-tail either whole (about 1.5 feet long) or cut in half. Ask the butcher to cut your ox-tail up into chunks of a biggish size. If you want to feed more people, buy a big one or two small ones, if you want to feed less buy a small one.

carrots - a bunch
onions - a bunch
fresh thyme - a lot
garlic - a bunch of cloves
tomatoes - a bunch of fresh ones or a big can or two of whole ones)
red lentils - a cup
butter or oil - just a little
light green long peppers (or something similar very mild spice) - three or so
jalapano - one or two, depending on your preference
potatoes - totally optional (I don't really like then myself, but to each their own)
habanero pepper or some kind of intense hot sauce - if it suits you and you want to feel the burn
salt, pepper - not too much salt, be careful, you can't put it back in the jar!
water - various quantities
spices - ideally Jamaican curry powder sold in large quantities (such as Cool Runnings brand)

1. You can also make your own if you know what you are doing: tumeric, cumin, allspice, etc, but I'd trust the Jamaicans to work their magic.

Methodology

Heat up a BIG HEAVY BOTTOM pot to medium. Cut up a whole bunch of onions, very coarsely. Fry them in some heated but not burning olive oil or butter (not too much). Fry on medium for a bit. While the pot is hot add the ox to the onions. Cook the outside of the meat, stirring on occasion. Add carrots and potatoes (in largeish chunks). Make sure not to burn anything, but you want to be getting the heat up and into the ingredients. This whole thing should take a little while (10-15 min.) You can cover it, and it may start to get liquid in the bottom, depending on how it works out. If that happens, cool, great, reduce heat for a while and let simmer. Add peppers. If it is looking dry on the bottom of the pan, avoid burning by adding water, red wine and/or canned tomatoes slowly. Slowly add liquid until you have a saucy thing going on. Take about 20 little sprigs of thyme and strip the leaves off into the pot one at a time, toss the twig bits. Add garlic, crushed or cut up reasonably small. Add A couple of table spoons of spices as we discussed, depending on your preferences. Salt, pepper. Wash your red lentils in cold water, drain, and add. Add more water as needed (the lentils will take water).

The order of the actions is not highly important. Onions and meat first for sure. Don't let anything burn. Get the heat up, but do not settle into a rolling boil. Bring down heat once you have everything in the pot. Stir it up. Enjoy the process.

Now, clean up your cooking station, and let the puppy cook for a LONG TIME on VERY LOW. We are talking like 4 hours or more if you like. Add water as needed. Do not burn anything on the bottom. Usually 4 hours will do it good. You can also mess around with getting it up to a boil, and leaving it to cool on the stove for a hour or three while you go out and do something else, and then re-heating it and simmer it again. If you are using lamb on the bone instead, cook for much less time, like one hour of simmering or until the meat falls of the bone. Stew beef with the bone in - maybe 1.5 or two hours of simmering, it depends.

At this point the meat, of whatever sort, should fall of the bone more or less with the use of a fork. You may have somewhat over shot if you can no longer distinguish the meat chunks, but that is not the end of the world. When you are satisfied, stop cooking and let it cool completely. Leave it out on the stove for a while to cool off, then store in the pot, in the fridge, while time passes. When it has cooled completely, skim as much of the of fat off the surface as you can with a spoon or a ladle.

Reheat thoroughly (probably the next day) and enjoy this carnivorous feast. You can serve it with hot sauce and sour cream or yogurt, and definitely something bread-ish like pita or white bread or ROTI in large quantities.

Notes:

The long slow cooking brings out the flavour and turns a very tough hard-assed cut of meat into a soft and tender delicacy. It also semi-liquefies the nutrient-rich bone marrow and some of the cartilage-type stuff (good for those of you with joint problems!) The key here is to cook it on low, essentially for ever. This is an all-day thing, or a least an afternoon thing. It is also good to eat a sandwich while or before cooking, so you don't get hungry and try to eat the ingredients.

Proportionally, you will want it to be heavy on the meat and onions, with lots of taste and sauce. Most of the other vegetable ingredients will become broken down by all the cooking. It can be thick or thin, re water and lentil quantity, as desired. It works well as a thick sludge or as a brothy kind of soup. It works very well to be cooked in large quantity and reheated as needed over the week. Because of the large quantity and all the cooking, this stew will take quite a lot of spicing and not become deadly hot, so . . . hold the course. You can always cool it down with yogurt or sour cream.

Invite a large group of people over. Eat as a soup with a spoon. Encourage the use use of fingers to eat the meat and get at the good stuff. Add hot sauce as needed. Bring your appetite and leave your meat-on-the-bone prejudices at the door.


Dr. Rocker

curry coconut soup with chickpeas and veggies

hey fools,
i made this yesterday whilst in a post-drunk, pre-drunk daze and it was amazing. warm, comforting, interesting -- all that you could want out of a homemade hangover dish.

die zulaten:

• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 medium onion (about 6 ounces), chopped
• 1 medium red bell pepper (about 6 ounces), chopped
• 1 jalapeño chili, seeded and finely chopped
• 2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup chopped tomatoes, seeded and peeled, fresh or canned
• 1 teaspoon mild curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 (14-ounce) can light coconut milk
• 3/4 cup cooked white or brown rice
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro or parsley

das kochrezept:

Heat the oil over medium heat.
Add the onion, bell pepper, and chili; cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. [Note: I think if you wanted to "veg it up" you could also totally add more veggies.]
Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. [Note 2: I had no garlic and substituted ginger, which I thought was really good.]
Add the broth, chickpeas, tomatoes, curry powder, salt, and black pepper; bring to a boil over high heat.
Reduce the heat and simmer gently, uncovered, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.
Add the remaining ingredients and cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through, about 5 minutes.
Eat.

in lieu of any kind of relevant illustration, i'm posting this flyer i made recently. because, you know, coconuts and dildos go so well together.

love,
prof. tata

spelt + kale stew = a spicy delight

dear internet friends,

today was a day of delicious eating. if you are in the mood for something hearty yet not heavy, spicy but flavourful... here is what you should do. acquire the following:

1 large-ish onion
2 cloves of garlic
2 small red thai chili peppers (or substitute with dried red pepper flakes)
1 tsp chili powder
a couple of fingerling potatoes (the most delicious kind)
1 carrot
1 cup cooked chickpeas
1 cup spelt berries (farro)
4 cups broth
14 oz can diced tomatoes
half bunch of kale
1 cup ish savoy cabbage

sautee the onion, garlic and hot peppers in olive oil. when soft, add the chili powder, chopped potatoes and carrot. keep cooking on medium for another 5 minutes or so. add the can of tomatoes, spelt and the broth and a bit of salt. cover and bring to a boil, then cook on low heat until the spelt is soft (45 minutes ish if you get unhulled, which is healthier). add the chickpeas near the end of that time. Then once everything is pretty well cooked, add the chopped cabbage and kale and keep cooking on low until they wilt.

ta-da!

i ate this with crumbled sheep's feta on top and am immensely satisfied.

enjoy.

Definitely not kosher

This photo pretty much sums up my Uncle Paco. Just back from a weekend with him and his wife Maria in Oviedo, in northern Spain, where I ate very well and took silly pictures. (Apparently Woody Allen said something nice about the city so they made him a statue.)

In casa, I worked hard on my vocabulary. A few choice words and phrases:

• voy al cine de las sábanas blancas = i'm going to bed (literally: i'm going to the white sheets cinema. apparently used only by my aunt's father.)
• no veo tres en un burro = i have terrible vision (literally: i can't see 3 people on a donkey... note that if you can see 4 people on a donkey, you're OK. the donkey probably is not.)
• buzear = scuba diving (necessary for watching the 1980s underwater/alien/Cold War classic The Abyss, starring a young Ed Harris, dubbed into Spanish)
• me estás mimando mucho! = you are seriously spoiling me (literally: me all weekend)

Even though she doesn't like it herself, la tia made a delicious Asturian bean stew for us Allodis and was kind enough to pass on the recipe.

Fabada asturiana

1 kg dried Asturian white beans (longish, but not flat like those from Barco de Avila)
pancetta/tocino entreverado (pig fat from the underbelly with some meat)
lacon (salted pork)
blood sausage (Maria insists it must be Asturian)
chorizo (Spanish pork sausage with paprika)
1-2 cloves of garlic, unpeeled
1 bay/laurel leaf
cuarter onion
pinch of saffron, if you like
some white flour, to thicken the broth

Soak beans overnight. Put them in a pressure cooker or pot, add water to cover plus an inch. Add everything else except the flour. Bring to a boil and skim off all the gross foam. Cook under pressure for 20 minutes, or longer in a normal pot. If you like a thick broth, take out some beans, puree them and add them back. You could also add some flour. Serve beans alone or with meat. MMmmm...

Climate change in action?

Madrid is having a pretty brutal winter. While most years it rarely dips below 0ºC, this year has seen quite a bit of snow. Madrileños are still talking about their brush with death a few weeks ago when a full 10cm accumulated, more snow than they have seen in 40 years. Hundreds of flights were cancelled, only the children ventured outside, the city was paralyzed - it was hilarious. It also made me realize that I actually miss snow. How great of a Canadian am I?

Well... not such a great Canadian that I don't appreciate this last week of 15ºC and sunny (Madrid has apparently recovered from its cold spell). Hence the recipe. This cold summer soup is what I made yesterday after I went running in the sunny Parque del Buen Retiro in shorts and a t-shirt. Kisses!

Gazpacho
NB: Spaniards insist this is not a soup. The best description I have heard is "Andalusian liquid salad." Serve in a bowl or drinking glass.

2 slices stale white bread, crusts removed (75 g)
4 large ripe tomatoes (1 kg)
1 green bell pepper
1/2 cucumber
1/2 onion
2 cloves garlic
4 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp salt
5 tbsp white wine vinegar
some water or ice cubes
garnish: toast cut into cubes, chopped hard boiled eggs, and any of the vegetables mentioned above that you want, chopped.

Soak the bread in water (mmmmm soggy bread). In a cuisinart, combine the tomatoes, seeded peppers, cucumber, onion, and garlic. [Purists insist you need to run it through a sieve to get rid of skins, seeds, and other undesirables. Whatever.] Squeeze the water from the deliciously soggy bread and add to the mix. Add some oil, salt, and vinegar to taste. Add water to taste, or ice cubes if you want to serve immediately.

Tortilla Soup and Existential Blogging: Begrebet Angest

I let my first C is for Kitchen invitation expire. I was very overwhelmed by the prospect. As the great Julia Child once proclaimed, you are what you cook! Am I savory or sweet? Sour or bitter? God, Am I Umami?? Am I an anti-animal rights barbarian or a baby-plant pamperer? Soon, posting had become no longer about trivial recipes but my entire self-definition! How could I possibly be expected to create something so substantive in the 14 months before the next blog invitation expired?!?!

And then, the economy crashed and Obama was elected president and I thought to myself, “Yes, I can!”

So, here’s to more productive moments of procrastination:

“Aztec” Soup or “Mexican Turkey Tor-tila Soup”

2 bunches scallions, trimmed and chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped and kept away from the eyes and nose
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons ground cumin
Many corn tillas
8 cups turkey/chicken/ “vegetable” stock
1 28-ounce can plum tomatoes, undrained
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice (or more)
Salt
2 cups cooked turkey/chicken, a la julienne (optional for an easy plant-pamperer twist)
Numerous ripe avocados
½ cup fresh cilantro
Cheese (cheddar, Monterey jack, anything strong)


Saute scallions, garlic, and jalpeno peppers in heated olive oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add chile powder, oregano, and cumin and cook for one minute. Cut tortillas into small strips and add to the pot. Add stock, tomatoes and lime juice. Season with salt. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, cut more tortillas into thin strips and fry with (lots of) butter or oil until crisp!

Ladle into soup bowls and garnish with turkey/chicken strips (or not), avocado, cilantro, fried tortilla chips and cheese!

Existence precedes essence!

my mom never made this, but i hear moms do

let me set the scene for you: a crisp fall-turning-ever-too-soon-to-winter evening, an unexpectedly clean dining room complete with new navy blue table cloth, an assortment of mismatched chairs, and a sea of delightful company. on the table, a delicious feast complimented by the ever-present and ever-reliable premiere moisson baguette, and a symbolic bottle of fuZion, a versatile red. don't be jealous, just be a primate. you know, ape... like mimic, copy, borrow... god didn't any of you ever do crossword puzzles? ugh whatever.

on the table:

1. potato leek soup with sharp cheddar

2. beets with feta and carmelized onions

3. an innovative ginger/beet green combo a la madeleine


honestly, i can only help you out with items one and two, and if i really need to help you out with item two, well, amateur culinary feats are fine, but don't go into the business.

i ended up making the stock for the soup, though obvs i would never force this kind of endeavor on others. however, it just consisted of the green parts of the leeks, some crushed garlic cloves, and possibly a carrot all boiled up together for about 45 minutes. if that is not your cup of tea, just exercise your money muscle and buy some. stock. not tea.

4 leeks, chopped, white parts only
lots of little yellow skinned potatoes, maybe like 30? chopper-beeks help me out?
vegetable stock, between 4 to 6 cups
salt and pepper
some grated cheese, optional but not really optional

fry up the leeks in some butter, for a while, maybe 20 min, stirring. then pop them into the simmering stock. in the pan where the leeks were, fry the yellow potatoes, skins on and sliced thinly, for as long as you feel like. i suggest 15 minutes. when you're finished frying, dump them into the stock. simmer until the potatoes are cooked and then gingerly, especially if the available blender is one that has accompanied madeleine on her life's journey probably since conception, blend. texture is a great thing, so if you can't manage to smooth everything out, just pretend like you did it on purpose. salt and pepper and serve. the spanish actually have a verb for "to salt and pepper" but we of the english tongue have to take it one step at a time. drop some sharp cheddar in and stir. the spanish do not have a verb for this. sorry.

Corn Chowder

c/o New Basics

Warning to herbivores: forget about it. You might think you can vegetarianify this recipe, but you can't. Trust me because I've tried. Those bacon bits and chicken stock make all the difference.

Serves 6

4 oz (110g) sliced bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 cups onion, chopped
2 tbsp flour
4 cups chicken stock
2 large potatoes, cut into ¼ inch cubes
1 cup half and half cream (10% mf)
4 cups cooked corn kernels (drain and rinse if canned)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 large red bell pepper, ¼-in dices
3 green onions (use white bulb and 3 inches of green), cut into ¼ inch rounds
Fresh cilantro

Wilt bacon in a large soup pot over low heat until fat comes out, about 5 minutes. Add butter to pot. Add onion and wilt over low heat for 10 minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes . Add stock and potatoes. Cook over medium-low until potatoes are tender, about 12-15 minutes. Add half and half, corn, pepper, and salt and cook 7 minutes. Add bell pepper and scallions, adjust seasoning and cook another 5 minutes. Serve immediately, garnished with cilantro.

Dal a la Joy

So simple! So filling!

1 cup yellow split peas or red lentils, rinsed
3 cups water
1 onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp peeled and minced ginger
½ tsp turmeric
1 tsp salt
2 serrano or jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped
1 plum tomato, diced
2 tbsp. fresh cilantro

Add lentils, 2 cups water, onion, garlic, ginger, turmeric to pot. Bring to boil, simmer covered for 20-25 min. Stir in 1 cup water and salt. Simmer partially covered for 20 min. Stir in peppers, tomato, and cilantro. Serve with basmati rice.

Thai Butternut Squash Soup

Recipes are back. This one has been enjoyed by one and all over the last couple of years c/o Moosewood. This version has a few of my own modifications. If you don't like it, type up your own goddamn recipes.

Contents:
1 cup coconut milk
½ teaspoon Thai red curry paste
½ tsp salt
2 cups veggie brother (best without salt)
2 12-oz packages of frozen cooked winter squash or about 1 large whole winter squash
1 lime
2 cups fresh baby spinach
Sugar, to taste
Chopped cilantro

Pan-fried tofu:
8oz (½ cake) firm tofu
1 tbsp soy sauce
½ tsp Thai red curry paste
1 tsp vegetable oil

If you’re using fresh squash, bake whole in oven for 1.5 hours or until poked easily with a fork. In the microwave, cut lengthwise, lay skin side up in ½ inch of water and cook for five minutes. Turn and cook for another 5 minutes or until tender. Seed, peel, and chop squash. In a soup pot, whisk together the coconut milk, curry paste, salt, and broth. Add squash, cover, and bring to a simmer. Cook, covered, 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare pan-fried tofu. Cut the tofu into small cubes and toss with soy sauce and the curry paste. Heat the oil in a small skillet on medium-high heat. Add the tofu and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes. Set aside.

Lightly grate the lime peel and juice the lime. Add zest and lime juice to taste. Stir in spinach and tofu and cook until spinach wilts. Add sugar and salt to taste. Garnish with cilantro.

thesis: lentils. antithesis: limes. synthesis: great soup. praxis: go make it right now

fact: in 2005 Mexico produced the plurality of global output of lime (ringing in at 12%), followed closely by India, Argentina, Iran and Brazil.

fact: limey, a term often used to describe brits, especially sailors, derives from the daily rations said sailors would receive of lime, in their colonial sojourns, to prevent scurvy. you don't need to identify with mother england to appreciate a good nutrient.

fact: when you spend most of your days in the library, and your idea of a vegetable is the garlic in timmy's garlic cream cheese, it's time to worry about scurvy.

lentil lime soup to the rescue.

fact: to change your life for the better, short of graduation, you will need:

2 cups split red lentils, be sure to rinse and check for tricky little pebbles
1 tablespoon turmeric
4 tablespoons butter
Salt
1 large onion, finely diced, about 2 cups
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 ½ teaspoons mustard seeds
1 bunch chopped cilantro, about 1 cup
Juice of 3 limes, or to taste

Possible toppings/fillings:
1 large bunch spinach leaves, chopped into small pieces (iron is best digested when with citrus)
1 cup cooked rice
yogurt
crumbled feta
a (half) dozen corn tortillas (pitas) torn up and sauteed in olive oil

What is to be done?Put your lentils in a soup pot, along with 10 cups of water, the turmeric, 1 tablespoon of butter, and 1 tablespoon of salt. Bring to boil, then lower heat and simmer (covered) until lentils are soft and falling apart. DM claims this takes 20 minutes. In my experience, this takes 40.

As the soup is cooking, for a disputable amount of time, get going on the onions. In a medium skillet over low heat, put in 2 tablespoons butter, the onion, cumin and mustard seeds. It will smell GREAT. When the lentils are soft, about 15-20 minutes, add cilantro to the onions and cook a minute or two more. Add mixture to the soup.

Wait until the soup seems ready to you. Then add the lime juice. If you aren't sure how much to put in, I usually start with two and end up with three. You've gone too far if on tasting the soup you spontaneously exclaim "blimey, that's limey," though, given the health benefits noted above, it's not too much of a problem.

Right before serving, put the last tablespoon of butter into a wide skillet (or the skillet you used for onions, saves dishes!), when it's foamy, put in the spinach and a dash of salt, and cook for just as long as it takes to wilt. Serve the soup, dish out spinach on top, and distribute other fillings/toppings as desired. My favourite combo is feta and corn tortillas.

TADA!

PS this recipe is from Deborah Madison.

Peeeee Kale soup

Very Important Note on STOCK pre-recipe:

Stock is infuriatingly underrated slash overlooked. A good stock goes a long way. I made this soup twice; the first time with plain ol' h2O and the second time with stock that I had made and obvi the second soup was far superior. This is probably obvious but to make a good stock all you have to do is:
1) Save the parts of your vegetables that you don't eat in the freezer
2) When you've got a good pot-full, stick em' in some water and boil the shit out of them

A ton of the wonderful nutrients are extracted plus the flavor is amaze. Some vegetables that I find have particular stock potential are leek leaves, broccoli and asparagus stems, rutabaga and butternut squash skins.

La Recette

1) Fry up approx. 2 onions and 5 cloves of garlic in a pot-- until the onions are quite tanned.
2) Add a bunch of peas, maybe something like 2 cups.
3) Pour in water or stock after a couple of minutes... I usually add about 2 cups but my soup tends to be quite thick so I guess add more if you don't dig that shit.
4) Simmer for roughly 20 minutes.
5) Take a good bundle of kale leaves and lay them on top to steam.
6) Put through the blender or food processor.
7) Taste it to see if it needs salt and pepper. When I used the wickedly powerful stock, 'twas not necessary!

Love and peas,

Graves