Curried Lentil and Barley Soup

This soup is so thick it's almost a stew. Serve with warm Naan or crusty bread.

3 cups vegetable stock
1 15 ½ oz can diced tomatoes
1 cup dried lentils (rinsed)
1 small red potato diced
1 stalk celery diced
½ cup onion diced
½ cup dried wild mushrooms diced
½ - 1 tsp crushed red pepper

Combine all ingredients in soup pot
and bring to a boil.

Cover and simmer for 15 minutes

1 ½ cup diced raw white mushrooms
1 carrot shredded into fine julienne

Add fresh mushrooms and carrots ingredients, return to boil, cover and lower to simmer until lentils are tender (10 – 15 minutes)

Add:
1 cup cooked pearl barley
1 ½ tsp curry powder
Splash of balsamic vinegar
Sea salt to taste (2-3 tsp)

Let soup sit covered to allow flavors to blend. Adjust seasonings to taste

Garlicky Hummus

Take the time to make this hummus from scratch if you can....the difference is amazing!

To cook chickpeas from dry:  Cover 1/2 pound of dried chickpeas with a couple inches of water and soak overnight.

Drain, rinse and cover chickpeas with new water, bring to boil and simmer with 1/2 tsp turmeric until tender (al dente).





Add to Vita Mix or Blender
Juice 1 lemon
3 Tbsp Tahini
4 large garlic cloves peeled
1 - 2 Tbsp parsley
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Blend for a few seconds to combine and liquefy Tahini.

Add 1 3/4 cups cooked chick peas (substitute one can drained if necessary)

Process until smooth adding reserved liquid from chickpeas.

Serve with Pita Chips or Bread, Naan, fresh veggies, tortilla chips

Vegetableful Soup

Add caption

Every Monday I make a big pot of soup or stew to eat during the week. It seems to taste better the next day, and the next and the next....













Chop lots of vegetables.
1 large carrot
1/2 big Vidalia onion
1 clove minced elephant garlic, or 4-5 cloves regular garlic
1 cup chopped celery including leaves
1/8 head or about 1 1/2 cups green cabbage
4-5 cups fresh spinach

1 can Rotel tomatoes with green chiles
6 cups vegetable stock
1 can black beans drained & rinsed
1 can garbanzo beans drained & rinsed
1 cup cooked rice
1 tsp basil
1/2 - 1 tsp turmeric
Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

Add vegetables to stock pot with about 6 cups vegetable stock and 1 can Rotel tomotoes with green chiles, or 1 can diced tomatoes if you don't want it too spicy.  I add 1 tsp basil, carrot, onion, garlic & celery first and simmer for 10-15 minutes until they are starting to become tender.

Add cabbage and zucchini and simmer for another 5-10 minutes until they taste just right to your teeth.

Throw in spinach, 1 can black beans, 1 can garbanzo beans, 1 cup cooked rice.  Let the soup come to a boil, then cover and turn off the heat.  Taste and add salt & pepper to taste.  I use about 2 tsp salt.