Coconut Curry Yellow Lentil Soup

Well, it has been a fun hiatus, but fortunately (or unfortunately, since you all now have to deal with me) I'm officially back - this time with an actual recipe! Yes, folks, I'm actually cooking again. I thought I lost my touch since, prior to this evening, my biggest culinary endeavor was heating up a Trader Joe's masala burger. Thankfully for my taste buds and the sake of the blog, I didn't lose my cooking prowess.



Since it's bitterly cold, I decided to make my favorite comfort meal: soup. So, I threw together some ingredients that I thought would complement each other well, and ended up with a creamy, stick-to-your-ribs soup that will provide a week's worth of warm bowls to help ease those freezing nights.


Coconut curry yellow lentil soup
Ingredients
- 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1 carrot, diced
- 1 rib celery, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2t ginger, minced
- 1 russet potato, peeled & diced
- 1 1/2 cups split yellow lentils, uncooked
- 2 cups brown rice, cooked
- 4 cups vegetable broth or stock
- 1 15oz can coconut milk
- 2t curry powder (I make my own, but use what you have on hand)
- 1t garam masala
- Juice of half a lemon
- Fresh cilantro, chopped
- S&P, to taste

Instructions
- Rinse lentils. Add them to 4 cups water, bring to a boil and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until they just begin to get tender. Drain and set aside.
- Saute aromatics (I used coconut oil) until translucent. Add stock, coconut milk, cooked lentils, potato and spices. Bring to a simmer and cook until potato is fork tender and soup is thickened. Add cooked brown rice at the last few minutes to heat through. Finish off with cilantro, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, and serve!

Serves 6



Definitely give this soup a try. It has a nice heat, though not overpowering, and is totally and completely warming. It's also wonderfully thick and hearty, and left me full for hours. Followed by a cup of green tea and a ginger chew, I was a happy girl.



Oh, and you're not going crazy. I am back to using Organically Me. So, rest assured, I'm the crazy (indecisive) one. But I feel at home here, and that's all that matters.

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Chestnut Porcini Bisque

Let me preface this by saying that I know this bisque doesn't look appetizing. It's thick and beige and reminds me of things I would never eat. But, if I've taught you nothing else on this blog, then remember that good food doesn't have to be complicated and it doesn't have to look pretty.



That being said, this soup is amazing. I know I say that every time I make soup, but this is definitely on a different level. As soon as I took my first spoonful, I closed my eyes and savored the flavors in my mouth as long as I could. My mom noticed me in food bliss, rubbed my arm and said "enjoying yourself, honey?" Yes mom, I totally was.



I took extra long to finish my bowl because this bisque is so intensely flavored that I wanted to be able to fully enjoy each drop. This was perfect between sips of merlot and bites of goat brie stuffed pears and also perfect when I just ripped off a hunk of baguette and dunked to my hearts delight.



In short, make this soup. Prepping the chestnuts is kind of a pain, but strangely cathartic. Also, I know porcini mushrooms aren't the most inexpensive or easily attained mushrooms, but don't sub them; they give the dish a wonderful earthiness that truly cannot be duplicated. If you can't find them, then feel free to come over for a bowl. I have plenty of leftovers.


Chestnut porcini bisque
Ingredients
- 1lb chestnuts
- 2/3 cup porcini mushrooms, soaked in warm water for at least 10 minutes
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1 cup porcini soaking liquid
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 carrot, diced
- 1 celery stalk, diced
- 1/2 cup cream (I used non-dairy)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme
- S&P, to taste

Instructions
- Prep the chestnuts (this can be done the night before) by slicing an "X" on the surface of each. Bring a pot of water to a boil and boil chestnuts for about 20-25 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes, then carefully peel away the shell. It's best to do this while the chestnuts are still warm or else the shells will become hard.
- Heat olive oil in a large soup pot and saute aromatics until translucent. Add remaining ingredients, aside from cream, bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly, then puree the soup in batches. Strain through a sieve and return to the soup pot. Bring the soup back to a simmer and whisk in cream. Keep on warm until serving. Garnish each bowl with a drizzle of olive oil and porcini mushrooms, if desired.

Serves 4

Thai Kabocha Soup

I love Thai food. The smell of yellow curry sends me into a fit of hunger that isn't settled until I leave a restaurant with Thai food baby. I don't get to eat it out often these days, but always feared making it at home because it just seems like a cuisine that is always better made by the professionals. Plus, all the exotic (re: expensive) ingredients deterred me because I didn't want to spend $30 for one dish.

Well, last night I had a horrible craving for Thai food, so I threw caution to the wind and begrudgingly went to Whole Foods. Shocking, I know. After carefully scouring the produce section for what I needed, dropping stalks of lemongrass all over the floor, and forcing myself to put down the chocolate goat cheese, I left ready to take on a new challenge.


Thai kabocha soup
Ingredients
- 1 large kabocha squash, peeled and cubed
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1 15oz can full fat coconut milk
- 1 stalk lemongrass
- 1 1/2" knob of galangal or ginger
- 5 keffir lime leaves
- 1 hot chili (I used a serrano)
- 2 tbsp soy sauce*
- 1/2 tsp organic cane sugar
- Cilantro, for garnish
- Roasted peanuts, for garnish

Instructions
- First, prepare your ingredients. Cut the lemongrass stalk into thirds and bruise the pieces by bending them back and forth until slightly broken. Peel your galangal (or ginger) and cut it into slices. Remove the seeds from your chili and finely mince it.
- Bring broth to a boil. Add squash, coconut milk, and remaining ingredients and bring the soup to a simmer. Cover and cook for 30 minutes, or until the squash is very tender. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
- After about 5-10 minutes, ladle half the soup into your blender and blend until smooth. Run the pureed soup through a strainer in order to remove pulp from the lemongrass and ginger. Continue until all the soup is smoothly pureed.
- Bring soup back to a boil and heat on low until ready to serve. Garnish with chopped cilantro and peanuts (and some chili flakes if you want an extra spicy kick).

* You can use fish sauce to be more authentic, but I think it's pretty vile so I opted to use soy sauce. Just use something to get that umami flavor.




I wish you all could have seen me when I was making this last night. I was so giddy I was practically skipping after I lifted the lid of the pot and was immediately hit by the scents I remember from my favorite Thai restaurant. The smell and the taste of this soup are spot on; the key to Thai cooking is to create a balance between spicy, umami, sweet and sour, and this dish does that well.



If you're tired of mashed or roasted squash, give this soup a try. You can find the ingredients at Asian supermarkets or Whole Foods and I promise that it's worth it to track 'em down.

Oh, and in case you have no idea what to look for, here are the star players:

Lemongrass, keffir lime leaves, galangal, serrano.

Violette Vichyssoise

Krystina, Uncorked:

1. I spend entirely too much time in a plaza by my campus that has both a Whole Foods and a Barnes and Noble. In fact, I'm in Barnes and Noble typing this now.

2. Sometimes I pretend to listen to music on my blackberry so that I can listen to people's conversations without them realizing it. For some reason I feel sneakier that way.

3. I carry around a legal pad wherever I go so I can jot down recipe ideas. It comes in handy at, say, 9:00AM when I'm in class and have a sudden craving for broccoli.

4. I drink a cup of green tea every night after dinner. I swear it helps me digest, even if it doesn't.

5. Sometimes I pull out a French dictionary and look up random words, write them down, and repeat them to myself until I memorize them.

6. I love purple food. You name it, plums, purple onions, cabbage, potatoes - I love it all. Don't even get me started on the purple asparagus I saw at Trader Joe's.

In sticking with my love of purple food and apparently the French language, I bring you my own spin on a Julia Child classic: vichyssoise.


Violette vichyssoise
Adapted from Julia Child

Ingredients
- 2 purple potatoes, peeled and quartered
- 2-3 leeks, whites only
- 2 cups water
- 1 tbsp (non-dairy) cream
- 1/2 tbsp chives, for garnish
- Sea salt, to taste

Instructions
- Bring potatoes, leeks and water to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 20-30 minutes.
- Take off the heat and allow to cool slightly. Blend soup until smooth, and chill until ready to serve. Stir in cream and garnish with freshly snipped chives; enjoy with a glass of crisp white wine.

Serves one (or 2 as a starter)


This came together so quickly but tasted like it took hours to make. It's a rich, decadent and velvety soup, so much so that you wouldn't believe the simplicity of the ingredients. Plus, is it not the most stunningly colored soup you've ever seen? Seriously, take another look.




Très bon.

Vichyssoise

French Garlic Soup For One

Today I'm going to show you how to take these simple, inexpensive ingredients:



and make this:


French garlic soup
Ingredients
- 2 cups vegetable stock
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 egg, separated
- 3 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- S&P, to taste
- Parsley, for garnish

Instructions
- Boil whole peeled garlic cloves in water until tender. Mash them using a fork or the side of a knife and set aside.
- Bring vegetable stock to a low boil. Add mashed garlic, rosemary and thyme and lower to a simmer. Simmer for 30 minutes.
- While it simmers, prepare bread by baking in a 325 oven until dry and golden brown.
- Strain soup to remove herbs and garlic, leaving a clear broth.
- Separate egg yolk and white into two bowls. Whisk whites until frothy. Add egg whites to the simmered broth and whisk until the whites begin to set.
- Temper the egg yolk by adding a ladleful of soup into the bowl with the yolk. Stir, making sure the egg doesn't scramble. Add yolk to the soup and whisk until thickened.
- Place bread on the bottom of your bowl (spread with goat cheese, if desired) and top with soup. Drizzle with a touch of olive oil, garnish with parsley, and serve immediately.


I love this soup because it's so restorative; garlic is a fabulous immune booster. It's wonderful for a cold day or one where you just want to kick back and relax with a simple, elegant dinner.





This is a perfect example of a dish that includes a minimal amount of ingredients but has amazing flavor. The garlic mellows as it cooks, so the soup is delicate and not sharp or overly garlicky. It's also great to have a thick, hearty soup without the addition of butter and cream; it was rich, protein packed, beautifully herbaceous and full of nutrients.

Squash Soup for One

I love Italian food - pasta, risotto, patate e pepe. As you all know, I love dark chocolate, cupcakes (both cooked and raw) and well, anything sweet, really. However, when all is said and done, I still think my ultimate comfort food is soup. It's so versatile, so warm, so perfect for suddenly cold, rainy, dreadful days. In fact, the way I feel about soup is how most bloggers feel about oatmeal. So tonight I threw on my favorite t-shirt and got to making yet another bowlful of bliss.


Aromatic acorn squash and caramelized onion bisque
Ingredients
- 1/2 medium acorn squash
- 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 tsp agave
- 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
- 1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk*
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- S&P, to taste
- Toasted pumpkin seeds, for garnish (optional)

Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375.
- Scoop out seeds and pulp from the squash. Place it cut side down on a non-stick baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes or until slightly tender. It shouldn't be completely cooked through because it will cook more in the pot.
- While the squash cooks, get started on the onions. Heat a skillet on medium-low heat and add olive oil and onions. Add a pinch of salt to help the onions release their juices. Cook, stirring every few minutes, for about 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, add agave and stir to coat. Continue cooking for about 20 more minutes, stirring every few minutes, until onions are dark brown and caramelized. They should look like this:


I know I've posted about caramelized onions before, but I find them so beautiful (I'm odd) so I felt the need to post another picture.

- Once the squash is done, scoop out the flesh and set aside.
- Bring vegetable broth to a boil on a medium sized pot. Add squash, onions, cumin and cinnamon and once everything is boiling, reduce to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes or until squash is very tender. Take off the heat and allow to cool slightly.
- Once cooled for a few minutes, puree soup in a blender until it reaches your desired consistency. Add back to the pot, add milk and bring back to a boil. Simmer for at least 5 minutes or until ready to serve.

* You can sub plain non-dairy milk, but the vanilla works SO well in this. It fills the room with a slight vanilla scent but doesn't impart much flavor on the soup. It's very faint, but adds a little special somethin' somethin'.

Serves 1 hungry soup fiend




I know this soup seems like it has a lot of steps but it's totally do ahead! I cooked the squash and onions ahead of time, which made assembling the soup a lot easier. Next time, however, I WILL be making a bigger batch.


The flavors of this soup sound odd (onions, vanilla, cinnamon?!) but trust me, it was divine. The squash was nutty, the onions rich and sweet, and the spices added just enough to tie everything together. I would eat this by the truckload.


I'll never get tired of soup.

Vegetable Soup for the Soul

Even though I tried desperately to ward off whatever sickness I felt coming on, it looks like I lost the fight. Every day I could feel myself feeling worse and worse, and now I think I've accepted defeat. Pre-weight loss I used to get sick quite often, but now I rarely do. I think the fact that I fill my body with such nourishing foods and get regular exercise helps, but I guess it can't do everything. So, I've been resting, drinking lots of tea and even squeezed in a leg work out to try to get an energy boost. The leg work out was successful for my legs, but not so much for the rest of me. To nourish the rest of my body, I made something that's good for the soul.


Healing vegetable soup
Ingredients
- 4 cups vegetable stock
- 2 cups water
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 4 carrots, sliced into rounds
- 2 ribs celery, chopped
- 1/2 large onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3/4 cup rice or small pasta (I used Trader Joe's harvest blend)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp poultry seasoning (optional, but it adds a more authentic "noodle soup" flavor)
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- Scant 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- S&P, to taste

Instructions
- In a large soup pot, saute aromatics in olive oil until translucent.
- Add water, stock, bay leaves and seasoning and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn on low and simmer for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, add the dry pasta and continue to cook for 10-15 more minutes, or until pasta is fully cooked. Fish out the bay leaves, ladle into bowls, sprinkle with nutritional yeast and enjoy!




This soup is so simple, but so incredibly comforting. I really believe that soup does help when you're sick, and this soup has all the components that I find to be so warming and nourishing. It's light, familiar, perfectly seasoned and easy to put together. All I had to do was chop veggies and let the pot do all the work for me, which is exactly what I needed.


Now I'm going to continue drinking tea, curl up and relax. Tomorrow is crunch time - I have oodles of chem homework to do! Ah!

Bowlful of Hugs

After being woken up by loud rain at 6AM and feeling the cool air as I was walking home from the gym this afternoon, I knew that today was the perfect day for soup. As many of you may know, soup is one of my favorite foods. I made it more often than normal during my summer in Florida, but now that it's more seasonally appropriate I feel even more inclined to bust out the crock pot and make batch after batch of soup. While I love Italian food and chocolate, I think that soup is my ultimate comfort food; it's a warm hug in a bowl.

I had all the ingredients to make something I haven't made before: black bean soup. In fact, the only black bean soup I've ever had is from Panera Bread, which is mouth rocking. I knew that mine probably wouldn't compare to Panera's, but I still set out to make something tasty. I even added a secret ingredient!


Black bean soup
Ingredients
- 1/2lb dried black beans (1 cup)
- 4 cups water

- 3 cups vegetable broth
- 1 tbsp white or apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 large yellow onion or 1 large, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 jalapeno, minced
- 1 1/2 tbsp cumin
- 1 tbsp oregano
- 1/2 tbsp cilantro
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tsp unsweetened dark cocoa powder
- S&P, to taste

Instructions
- The night before, soak beans in water. In the morning, drain and rinse the beans and set aside.
- Saute onion, pepper, garlic and jalapeno until translucent. Set aside.
- Add beans, stock, aromatics and remaining ingredients to a crock pot. Turn on high and cook for 4 hours, then turn it down to low and cook for an additional 2 hours or until serving.
- Option: half an hour before serving, transfer half of the soup into a blender and puree until smooth. Add the pureed soup back into the crock pot and stir to combine. This will thicken the soup and make it creamier, while still allowing for some texture.

Serves 4-6


Can you guess the "secret" ingredient? Cocoa powder! It added a richness to the soup without adding much flavor. It's one of those things that totally make a dish even though you can't really detect what it actually does (similar to bay leaves). I liked this soup a lot - it was comforting and smokey without being at all spicy. If you want it spicy, though, feel free to up the jalapeno or throw in a pinch of cayenne; I wanted it more smokey and aromatic.


I garnished mine with a dollop of soyogurt and tomatoes and feasted! I can't say it's exactly like Panera's, but it's still pretty darn tasty.

Random fact: My favorite flower is a sunflower. What's yours?

Eating Like Peasants

This is further proof that I can't get enough of a) soup and b) Italian food.

Tuscan bread soup, or Ribollita, is a soup that was eaten by peasants because it's hearty, filling, and included ingredients easily accessible to them. Typically the soup is simply leftover minestrone with bread added to it; it's vegetarian by nature because of the lack of meat and cheese readily available to that class. Luckily even though that class structure is no more, the soup has remained a delicious Tuscan staple.

Also typical of this soup is that it takes three days to make. The first day is reserved to make the minestrone, then the second day bread is added and the soup is allowed to rest overnight. On the third day, the soup is reheated (ribollita means "reboiled") and served. I didn't have neither the time nor desire to devote three days to making soup, so this is my quick but equally delicious version.


Ribollita
Ingredients
- 1 bunch kale (preferably dinosaur kale), chopped
- 1/2 head cabbage, either savoy or green, shredded
- 4 small red potatoes, cubed
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 1/2 large red onion or 1 medium, finely chopped
- 2 ribs garlic, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 vine tomatoes, boiled, peeled and hand crushed
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp olive oil + extra for drizzling
- 1 15oz can beans (cannellini is preferred but I used kidney)
- 6-8oz of stale bread, cut into 1in cubes (about 1/2 an Italian baguette)
- Fresh parsley,basil and thyme, to taste
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
- S&P, to taste

Instructions
- In a large pot or dutch oven, saute aromatics in olive oil until translucent.
- Add kale, cabbage and potatoes and top with enough water to cover the vegetables. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 20 minutes, or until the greens are wilted.
- Add crushed tomatoes and tomato paste and continue to simmer. Add beans and continue simmering for around 2 hours.
- After 2 hours, fish out the bay leaves and puree half the soup in batches. Put all of the soup into a large bowl. Set aside.
- Using the same pot (off the heat), put a layer of stale bread on the bottom and cover with a layer of soup. Continue layering until soup is gone. Set aside for at least 2 hours.
- Half an hour before serving, bring the soup up to a low boil and simmer. Ladle into bowls and top with a drizzle of olive oil.



I know that this soup is quite involved and is an all day affair, but it's SO worth it. It sticks to your ribs and has a wonderful, earthy, herbaceous flavor. Think of it as spending all day putting love into a pot. It's a perfect way to use up a lot of stale bread and it's definitely interesting to see how much thicker it makes the soup. Also, imagine how amazing the leftovers will taste, because this is the kind of soup that gets infinitely better with age. So go get the ingredients and make this soup - I promise you won't regret it. If you do, just send the leftovers to me.



Side note: For a wine pairing, I highly recommend either a chianti classico or a rosé. I drank a bit of rosé and it went beautifully.

Edible Blanket

For reasons beyond my realm of comprehension, I'm craving soup. No, not gazpacho or other chilled soups. Hot, hearty, warming soups. I know it's blazing hot outside, but nothing sounds better than a big bowl of soup; it's like an edible blanket. I also have a fondness for adding coconut milk to soup, which works in a pinch if (like me) you currently only have sweetened soy milk in the fridge. Don't worry about the coconut milk giving it an overwhelmingly coconutty or Thai taste, it's quite subtle and simply adds a nice creaminess. I added it to the soup below, along with a medley of other ingredients I threw in on a whim, to create something perfect for summer.


Creamy summer vegetable soup
Ingredients
- 4 ears of corn, kernels removed
- 1/2lb green beans, cut into bite size pieces
- 3/4 cup frozen peas
- 1 large zucchini or 2 small, cut into bite sized pieces
- 1 carrot, diced
- 1 celery rib, diced
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 15oz can light coconut milk
- 2-3 cups vegetable broth
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- Old bay, to taste
- Cracked pepper

Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425. Add corn (in husks) and roast for 15 minutes.
- While the corn is cooking, sweat aromatics in olive oil. Once translucent and soft, add to crock pot.
- Allow corn to cool, remove husks and remove kernels using a sharp knife going in a downward motion. Set side.
- Add all vegetables and remaining ingredients in crockpot. Turn on low and cook for 4-6 hours.
- Ladle into bowls and top with a sprinkle of old bay. If your stock is salted, only add additional salt at the end. I actually didn't use any additional salt and it was perfectly seasoned.


This soup was so good. It was creamy and hearty without being heavy and its flavors were perfect for this time of year. If nothing else, add the Old Bay. I promise you it makes the soup.




Add potatoes or chickpeas if you want a more calorie dense soup. I just wanted something light.

Now, to resist the urge to make more soup or else my fridge will be full of leftovers.