Every gardener knows that under the cloak of winter lies a miracle … a seed waiting to sprout, a bulb opening to the light, a bud straining to unfurl. And the anticipation nurtures our dream.”
- Barbara Winkler
Today is an absolutely perfect day to start cleaning stuff out! Be it your home, your life, your relationships...what ever the case may be. Evaluate those things that are no longer serving you and get rid of them! I have so much clutter, be it emotional, spiritual or physical that I have been working on purging since the beginning of the year and today I am reevaluating...and purging once again. I love that feeling you get when a space is clean and organized. Being the most unorganized person in the entire world this is a feeling I don't get to experience very often. I will cherish it while I can. I am also working on being more organized. It is not something that comes natural to me, those skills are not part of my thinking process, so like so many other things in my life currently, it is a work in progress.
In case you are wondering what is on the menu for tonight, I know you must be. At the moment it is a Kale Salad with walnuts and "feta", Potato and Leek soup, Buttermilk Bread, and maybe a Coconut Cake for dessert or perhaps no dessert at all...we will see how ambitious (or hungry) I am.
Yesterday I knew the day was going to be busy. I was meeting with friends for lunch and then going to the bank and shopping afterwards and trying to make it home for a 4:30 yoga class...which I did not make. So knowing all this in the morning, I decided to throw some stuff in the crock pot for a soup so that I didn't have to worry about it later. The results were fabulous! Seriously, this soup was a lentil soup for people that claim they don't like lentil soup! I actually should call it a stoup because it was thicker than a soup but thinner than a stew. I think you should make it and serve it to someone that claims not to like lentil soup and report the results back to me!
The Perfect Lentil Soup for People that Claim Not to Like Lentil Soup
8 cups of unchicken broth or 8 cups of water with the appropriate amount of bouillon or your own homemade broth
1 1/3 cups brown lentils (washed and sorted)
2 T olive oil
4 lg cloves garlic - minced
3 med. sweet potatoes-chopped
2 lg stalks celery-chopped
1 large onion- chopped
1 red pepper(sweet)- chopped
2 cups green beans
3 cups chopped tomatoes ( 1 - 26oz box Pomi Tomatoes)
3 T tomato paste
2 T tamari
2 T parsley (I used all dried herbs and spices - not fresh)
1 t basil
1 t paprika
1 t coriander
1/2 thyme
1/2 cumin
1/2 t fennel seeds
1/2 t crushed red pepper flakes
Put everything, except green beans if using frozen and crushed tomatoes, in the crock pot and cook on low for six hours. Add green beans and tomatoes and turn to high and cook for another hour. Serve with brown rice or a nice crusty bread. Enjoy the fruits of your almost no labor.
