hot cooking in the kitchen...

all i want in life is a big kitchen. and lots of time to cook. and lots of money to buy ingredients and cooking supplies. and a whole bunch of other things. that's all. too much to ask for?

anyway, since i have no real singular focus for this blog, today i am choosing to write about food. which i've done before. and will probably do again.

i'm on my lunch break right now enjoying some delicious leftover lentil and veggie soup that i made last week. it is loosely based on a recipe from More With Less (fav cookbook!) basically i just started cooking a big ol' pot of green lentils with extra water. add plenty of salt. (approx 1 cup of lentils and 2 1/2 cups of water...not really sure since i added some later).

while those were cooking i peeled and chopped carrots (3 or 4). i love carrots in soup. they add such a nice flavor and color! i dumped the carrots in the pot along with the already cooking lentils, because i don't like crunchy carrots in my soup. then i chopped half an onion and several stalks of celery. i should have added these earlier than i did...the celery stayed a little crunchy which was a nice texture, but not what i wanted.

i waited until the lentils were almost cooked thoroughly and then added the celery, onions, a clove or two of garlic (chopped finely), and a can of crushed tomatoes with the juice. this is where i evaluated my liquid to goodie ratio and decided to add some water. it depends on how soupy you like your soup!

stir all this up and start adding spices!! being the new orleans convert i am, i wanted it to be flavorful and spicy. so i added plenty of salt and pepper, along with a bay leaf, some dried parsley, and some dried oregano. i probably could have cut back on the black pepper, but all in all...tastes good! the key to using spices is to just do a little bit at a time and taste. then let it simmer. taste again. add some more. simmer and taste...repeat.

i used to be terrified of herbs and spices because i didn't know what went with what and how it would taste so i always just stuck to plain old salt and pepper. using recipes with plenty of spices has gotten me past that barrier. i now know (generally) what i can add to my lentils that will taste good. or what i can add to my pasta sauce, etc... i'm still not terribly adventurous, but hopefully with time and practice, i'll become the spice queen.

anyway, the soup was delish and it made a TON. and it keeps very well in the fridge owing the the fact that there is no eggs or dairy involved.

sorry if you were hoping for a recipe with measurements...soup is usually just a way for me to use any vegetables i might have sitting around. throw them in the pot and see what happens!