Funny how the busier you seem the more productive you are. This week has been a nice respite from playing in the orchestra at school and as a result I've been a little lazy with things like making reeds and blogging. Of course, it doesn't help that I have two big papers with looming deadlines, and the more time I have to work on them, the less I feel like actually working on them. I figured I'd take this afternoon to go to a coffee shop and do some research and start writing. So naturally I am writing a blog post instead!
This one goes out to the vegetarians and health buffs. I don't think anything I've blogged about yet has been meat or dairy free. This isn't either, but you can easily substitute vegetable stock for chicken and the world will go on turning.
I've been thinking about lentils ever since Real Simple profiled all the trendy healthy foods in an issue last year. I think it must have been in the Jan 2011 issue, written for all those people whose New Year's resolution was to eat healthier. I always find those types of articles entertaining, because you can make an argument for anything being healthy. The prime example is how people go crazy for avocados. It's the fattiest vegetable in existence, but it's the "good kind" of fat. There's always an upside. The upside is that they're clearly delicious, but if you don't like them you shouldn't eat them just because they're "good for you."
This article actually made me give eggs a second chance. I always hated the idea of eggs. The idea of ingesting runny, unfertilized chicken ova didn't exactly appeal to me. But I've been eating a pretty protein deficient diet so, I figured I'd give them a shot. People have mixed feelings about eggs too. Half of them think they are cholesterol-laden fat globules and the others think they are one of the most efficient ways to get your protein. They're both right. It's up to you whether you want to eat them or not.
Anyway...kale and lentils were both on this list of healthy super foods. And it just so happens that both are really cheap! Perfect for my college student budget. Lentils have protein and kale is...well, green. I need some green in my diet too.
This soup was super easy to make. All it takes is a little chopping. (I'm becoming a chopping pro, by the way. I'm just practicing my knife skills for that day I'm on Masterchef!) I used a little curry powder to give it a little different flavor. I doubt that curry powder actually exists. Curries are made from ground up chiles which form a paste, not a powder. So...I'm pretty sure this curry powder is something McCormick made up to make money. You can probably substitute cumin if you have some on hand.
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 carrots, small diced
2 celery stalks, small diced
1 cup lentils
48 oz. chicken or vegetable broth
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp curry powder
about 3 cups kale, coarsely chopped or torn, stems removed
Directions:
Heat the olive oil in a large pot. Add the onions, carrots, and celery and saute until translucent, about 15 minutes. Add the lentils, broth, salt, pepper, and curry powder and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 40 minutes, or until lentils are tender.
Turn off heat and stir in the kale. Kale will wilt but not overcook.
...Aaaand, that's about it! It's so easy!
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