I have to admit, I never really considered soups until I became a mother. Yeah, they were good and something to go in the crockpot, but I really, really didn't have as deep appreciation for them as I do now.
I have a two year old who will not eat, which is normal for her age. I'm convinced she survives on breastmilk (yes, we're still nursing), hotdogs and air. But you stick a bowl of lentil soup in front of her and she will scarf it down like there's no tomorrow.
I work full time. So my evening time is limited and rather structured. As much as I like cooking, I don't always want to spend my entire evening in the kitchen chopping and cooking and trying to divide my attention between that and paying attention to my daughter.
Which is where soups and stews come into play. I can make a soup on a Sunday when I have extra time. Heck, sometimes, I make two. Pour 1-2 serving sizes into quart sized freezer bags and freeze them flat. And I have quick meals for the week that EVERYONE in my house will eat. And the best part is, all I have to do is come home, put some rice in the rice cooker and then go play with Dria until the rice is done.
Last night, while it wasn't a weekend, I did have a little extra time in the evening. So I sent Ry off to play with Dria and I heated up some pasta and sauce for our dinner (it was a husband and daughter request), and at the same time, I prepped one of our favorite soups from <a href=http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/coconut-red-lentil-soup-recipe.html>101 Cookbooks</a>.
Of course, I ended up making some changes to it because I was still a bit pressed for time and not terribly inclined to dirty every single pan in the kitchen.
Here's my version:
1 cup / 7 oz / 200g yellow split peas
1 cup 7 oz / 200g red split lentils (masoor dal)
7 cups / 1.6 liters water
2 medium carrot, chopped (original recipe calls for 1 carrot, but we had a lot of carrots and hey, any way I can get extra veggies into Dria is A Good Thing. Also, it calls for a 1/2 inch dice, but my knife skills in the kitchen are limited and slow and I was in a hurry. So we had chunky chops of veggies)
2 tablespoons fresh peeled and minced ginger
2 tablespoons curry powder
8 green onions (scallions), thinly sliced
1/3 cup / 1.5 oz / 45g golden raisins
1/3 / 80 ml cup tomato paste
1 14-ounce can coconut milk
2 teaspoons salt (or you know, to taste)
Give the split peas and lentils a good rinse - until they no longer put off murky water. Place them in an extra-large soup pot, cover with the water, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and add the carrot and 1/4 of the ginger. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the split peas are soft.
So here's where I changed it. The original recipe calls for toasting the curry powder and then setting aside and then sauting the green onion and raisins and tomato paste in butter in another pan. However, like I said, my time is limited and the fewer pans I have to wash, the happier I am. So, really, while the lentils and peas were simmering, I chopped up the green onions. Once the lentils were soft, I dumped in the rest of the ingredients and simmered another 20 minutes or so, until everything was good and thick.
If you have time, by all means, go the extra steps and toast and saute, but I am currently eating a butterless, untoasted and unsauteed version of this soup and it's still knock your socks off good.
And it turns out, it was a really good idea for me to have made this soup last night. This morning, we woke up shivering in our bed (Well....Dria woke up around 3am and wouldn't settle back down, so I brought her back into bed with me because her room was FREEZING. Since she was sleeping between me and Ryan, she was actually toasty warm. Ry and I were cold). There's apparently an air bubble in the radiator pipes. And due to some complications with a stripped screw, he potentially has a big project to work on tonight. So now, instead of trying to entertain Dria, keep Sally from chasing the cats, keep the cats from scaring the bejeezus out of Sally when she gets too close AND making dinner, I can put on some rice, reheat the soup on the stove and play with Dria until everything is ready. YAY me!
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