Once again, I didn’t make it to the grocery store. I didn’t even look up recipes for inspiration. All I knew I was that I was going to use potatoes we’d received from www.mamaearth.com and whatever other vegetables we had. To go along with the potatoes, I found, lentils, carrots, celery, old kale and an old cauliflower… yes, of course I was going to make a soup.
What I used:
Lentils
Potatoes
Cauliflower
Carrots
Celery
Kale
Butter
Soup Stock
Garlic
Onion
Cheese
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Sage
Tumeric Powder
Thyme Powder
Thyme dried herbs
Salt
I didn’t want to use the overnight method this week. I was off from work for the day but was still determined to use the slowcooker. It’s how I intend to cook the majority of my weekly meals. After appointments and nursing a headache, I had exactly 4 hours and prayed that it would be enough time to cook the lentils and the potatoes.
What I did:
1. Poured 1 box of soup broth in the slow cooker
2. Added 1/4 cup butter
3. Added one cup of lentils (washed) to the broth
4. Added about 2 cups of diced potatoes
5. I set the timer for 4 hours and began to prepare the rest of my food items. Once everything was chopped up I added them to the broth. I’m very slow and get easily distracted so, by the time I finished peeling and chopping everything, the slow cooker had about three hours to go. I put everything in, gave it a quick stir and thought it wise to add 2 cups of water. (I wanted a soup, not a stew.)
6. With about an hour to go, I added seasonings and pureed the soup with a hand blender
7. It tasted flat, boring. I added a bit more butter and it didn’t help much
8. I opted for cheese. I added about 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
9. Once somewhat smooth, I added thyme to the top and left it.
10. In this last hour, I fried some Perogies I’d bought earlier in the day to eat alongside the soup.
11. I also prepared some toppings for the gyoza (perfect bacon done in the oven on parchment paper and a burnt attempt at fried onions)
This meal was pleasant and comforting. The side of perogies appeased the non-soup lovers and even though I added butter, cheese and bacon to this meal…I’d like to think it was still pretty healthy!
What should I have done:
Seriously, if you have any insight into what I should have, could have done differently, please share. What about my portions of vegetables? Too many potatoes? Too much cauliflower? Not enough Kale? Too many spices? I’m not sure, but I feel I could have left out or used way less of the onion and garlic. I’m not sure at all though…my palate needs some refining.
Yours reflectively,
Tamla
12raisins 