Despite the fact that NYC found Nemo (the winter storm, not the adorable Disney clown fish) on Friday night, nothing could have stopped me from attending the Passion Pit concert at MSG (aka Hell) that night. Whooeee. That one was a doozy. I lost so many things that evening - gloves, hat, my friends in the crowd, and my mind, if we want to be honest. But as usual, those electronic psychopaths put on a hella good show, and I think that we can all be happy that frontman Michael Angelakos decided to put his bi-polarness aside for one night to rock the sh*t out of that legendary stadium. And to the usher who reprimanded me for dancing in the aisle to Little Secrets: BITE ME.
I woke up the next morning in a red wine induced haze and thought, I've gotta do something productive on this snowy day with all of those previsions that I stocked up on. So I went to work on a hearty lentil soup with sweet potatoes that's perfect for "post-concert conditions" and cold, dreary weather. The best part - you can throw let your crock pot do the hard part while you get in your daily dose of yoga, and watch a great BBC documentary on the science of weight loss/gain. Check out: Why Are Thin People Not Fat. Yep, that's what I did on Saturday.
8 Cups of water
1 1b. bag of dry lentils (rinsed and sorted)
1 large yellow onion
1 large sweet potato (peeled)
2 fresh carrots
2 stalks of celery
4 cloves fresh garlic
2 cups chopped dandelion greens/spinach/chard or other fresh green of choice
1/4 cup olive oil
14 oz can of crushed tomatoes
1 chicken bouillon cube
2 Bay leaves
1/2 Tsp of Oregano or Italian Seasoning Mix
1 Tsp of Cayenne (optional)
2 Tablespoons of Apple Cider Vinegar
Salt and Black Pepper to taste
Start by chopping onion, carrots, garlic and celery. Add these ingredients to saute pan with olive oil and oregano/Italian seasoning and cook until onions start to become tender, about 4 minutes. Chop the sweet potato and greens and place to the side. Empty contents of saute pan into crock pot or large soup pot. Next add the dry lentils, 8 cups of water, crushed tomatoes, chopped sweet potato, chicken bouillon cube, black pepper and bay leaves to crock pot/soup pot and stir. Put your crock pot on high heat and simmer for about three-four hours or until lentils reach desired tenderness. NOTE: Salt and Acidic ingredients can cause the lentils to harden which means more cook time. I wait to add the additional salt and vinegar until the lentils are already soft. If you're cooking on the stove top, bring the contents to a boil in the soup pot, and then simmer for 1 1/2 - 2 hours or until lentils have reached desired tenderness before adding additional salt/vinegar.
Toward the end of the cooking process add salt to taste, cayenne pepper, apple cider vinegar and your greens. Cook for an additional 10 minutes, until greens are soft and wilted. You may want to add more vinegar or cayenne depending on your heat/acid level preference. Lemon juice can also be used in lieu of vinegar.
Makes 6-8 servings. You can serve over brown rice, quinoa or cous cous, or just eat it on it's own BECAUSE IT'S BALLIN! The sweet potatoes take on a great salty sweet taste and give the soup a nice variance of texture. This soup is so hearty and delicious, and it definitely cleared up my post Passion Pit blues. Other movies I watched that day included Searching for Sugar Man, A FANTASTIC documentary about a very talented singer/songwriter named Rodriguez who hit it big in South Africa without even knowing, and The Green Mile (HOW HAD I NOT SEEN THIS MOVIE?! I LOVE YOU MR. JINGLES!) So, yeah, I think it's safe to say I was pretty productive.
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