Fresh Tomato, Lentil & Onion Soup

One of the ideas I enjoyed from the author of Zero Waste Home was how she likens cooking to dressing. She always has on hand two grains, two beans and two pastas and then assigns basic meal ideas to each day of the week (I.e. pasta on Monday, a bean dish on Tuesday). While Bea admits some people might find this less exciting than having several options in a pantry at one time, it’s similar to the fact that we wear 20% of our wardrobe 80% of the time.

So I started pulling out all the random ingredients I’ve acquired and, boy howdy, was she spot on. Some time ago I went through this phase of making risotto so I had a 64 ounce yogurt tub of Arborio rice that, when I opened it, looked quite peculiar. As I began to empty the contents into a glass container, all was revealed to me (in disgusting detail). Little buggies had infested my container and, frankly, made my life simpler. I tossed the lot of it on our compost pile and let go of the idea that I had a few risotto dinners I really needed to get to making.

Armed with determination I pulled out black beans, brown rice, buckwheat, couscous, garbanzo beans, Great Northern beans, lentils, navy beans, oat groats, red lentils, split peas, and wheat berries…sans buggies. I am living proof of Bea’s theory and I am now whittling down my selection of beans, grains and pasta. I have to admit, however, that some of these items were an accident. I was 100% convinced the buckwheat was barley which just goes to show that the bulk foods section can seriously tax an otherwise normally functioning brain.

With this soup recipe, I have only five ingredients to go to meet my goal!

Wine suggestion: Due to the mellowness of this dish and the addition of the herbes de Provence and black pepper, I’d go with a fruit-forward Pinot Noir such as 2008 Gresser Vineyard Pinot Noir-Willamette Valley.

2008 Gresser Vineyard Pinot Noir

Fresh Tomato, Lentil & Onion Soup

2 tsp sunflower oil

1 large onion, chopped **Garden fresh preferably

2 celery ribs, chopped

¾ C split red lentils

Fresh Tomato, Lentil & Onion Soup – pardon that it’s not a vibrant red

2 large tomatoes, peeled & roughly chopped   **Garden fresh preferably

3 ¾ C vegetable stock

2 tsp dried herbes de Provence

Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

Chopped parsley, to garnish **Garden fresh preferably

Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion and celery and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the lentils and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the tomatoes, stock, dried herbs, salt and pepper. Cover, bring to a boil and simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. When the lentils are cooked and tender, set the soup aside to cool slightly. Purée in a blender or food processor until smooth. Season with salt and pepper, return to the saucepan and reheat gently until piping hot. Ladle into soup bowls to serve and garnish each with chopped parsley. Serves 4-6. Taken from Vegetarian by Linda Fraser.

Note: Pair with a fresh salad and crusty bread for a balanced dinner.

Moroccan Stew

We’ve been harvesting a lot of green beans and zucchini lately. Some of the green beans are made into dilly beans which are wonderful on an appetizer tray but most of them are being blanched for use later in the winter. I have a few zucchini recipes I really enjoy but it is hard to keep up with zucchini once it decides to produce like rabbits in a room with no exit. Obviously the cayenne pepper sprinkled on a few zucchini a couple weeks ago did the trick. We’re no longer sharing our bounty with squirrels or whatever little pest was munching on them.

It’s so simple to substitute other vegetables in recipes for green beans or zucchini, however. The nutritional content may not be the same but it’s hard to beat vegetables you’ve grown yourself for freshness and a local food source. I’m reading another amazing book entitled The Zero Waste Home by Beá Johnson and she would be proud of my efforts.

Beá , her husband and two sons produce one quart of garbage per year! Can you even imagine that? I don’t know if we’ll get there but even if we adopt just a few of her ideas, we’ll have made a significant impact in our contribution to the garbage pile. The first one I’ve had down for years is using a stainless steel water bottle that I refill with tap water. Why did Americans so readily embrace the whole bottled water trend, I wonder? Ah, but it’s recyclable, you say. Ever heard of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch? “While there’s still much we don’t understand about the garbage patch, we do know that most of it’s made of plastic. And that’s where the problems begin.” I would love to see people continue to consume water but choose reusable containers to enjoy it in instead of convenient, single use plastics. A thought to ponder.

This Moroccan Stew is so fantastic. The photos aren’t particularly interesting. I swear, the smell, the taste, ah, it’s just an amazing recipe. When I was eating chicken, I used to add 24 ounces of chicken to this when the bulk of the vegetables were poured in so that certainly could be considered for meat eaters.

Wine pairing:  I would go with a medium bodied Pinot Noir for this dish. There’s a balance of acidity and sweetness in the Moroccan Stew that marries well with a lighter Pinot that’s more focused on spice than it is on tannins.

Make Ahead Moroccan Stew

Moroccan stew

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground cumin

½ tsp ground ginger

¼ tsp ground cloves

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

¼ tsp ground turmeric

1/8 tsp curry powder

1 tsp kosher salt

1 Tbsp butter

1 sweet onion, chopped

2 C finely shredded kale   *I substituted garden fresh green beans

4 (14 ounce) cans organic vegetable broth   *I use 7 cups vegetable broth

1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained

1 Tbsp honey

4 large carrots, chopped

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced

3 large potatoes, peeled and diced

1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained

½ C chopped dried apricots

1 C dried lentils, rinsed

1 tsp ground black pepper, to taste

1 Tbsp cornstarch (optional)

1 Tbsp water (optional)

Combine cinnamon, cumin, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, turmeric, curry powder, and salt in a large bowl, reserve. Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Cook the onion in the butter until soft and just beginning to brown, 5 to 10 minutes. Stir in the shredded kale and reserved spice mixture. Cook for 2 minutes or until kale begins to wilt and spices are fragrant. Pour the vegetable broth into the pot. Stir in the tomatoes, honey, carrots, sweet potatoes, potatoes, garbanzo beans, dried apricots, and lentils. Bring to boil; reduce heat to low. Simmer stew for 30 minutes or until the vegetables and lentils are cooked and tender. Season with black pepper to taste. If desired, combine optional cornstarch and water; stir into stew. Simmer until stew has thickened, about 5 minutes. Makes 6 servings.

Note: I recently substituted garden fresh beans for the kale and put them in with the tomatoes, honey, carrots, sweet potatoes, etc.

Recipe taken from http://allrecipes.com/recipe/make-ahead-vegetarian-moroccan-stew/