Fall Flavor- Lentil and Swiss Chard Soup

The weather is finally cooling off here and it has been so lovely. It's making me want to do lots of fall cooking, which makes me think of pumpkin, apples, comfy casseroles, and hearty soups. When I'm in the mood for cooking I like to take a look back through my past issues of Everyday Food. This weekend I pulled out all my October issues and did some perusing. I saw this soup recipe and thought I'd give it a go. It came out pretty well, and I'm definitely looking forward to trying more new soups this season.

Lentil and Swiss Chard Soup
Recipe from Everyday Food; Serves 4

1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for serving
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 cup lentils, picked over and rinsed
1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
2 bunches Swiss chard, stalks cut crosswise into 1" pieces, leaves torn into 2" pieces, kept separate
Coarse salt and ground pepper
Juice of 1/2 lemon

• In a large saucepan with a lid, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, until softened and browned, 3-5 minutes. Add tomato poaste, oregano, and thyme; stir to combine.
• Add lentils, 5 cups of water, and tomatoes with their juice; bring to a coil. Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, 20 minutes. Add chard, stalks and cook until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Add chard leaves; season with salt and pepper, and cook until lentils and chard are tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Stir in lemon juice; ladle into bowls. Drizzle with olive oil and serve with bread, if desired.

My notes: I totally forgot about the lemon juice at the end. I was also prepping some veggies for the week and taking peeks at "Glee" while I was cooking, so it just slipped my mind. This soup tasted good without it, although it could use a little bit more kick. Not sure if the lemon juice would do it for me though. Made a batch of cornbread to go with it.

Lackluster Lentils

Last Thursday I made the Vegetarian Lentil Soup with Croutons found in the December issue of Everyday Food. I thought it would be a good way to use the rest of the lentils leftover from the Veggie Chili. I also wanted to make it so I could use the cute plates that my brother-in-law & wife got us for Christmas. This was a pretty easy and quick recipe. Eating it went something like this...

-First bite: Not sure if I'm gonna like this
-Two more bites: Actually, it's not too bad
-Five more bites: Nope, I'm done, it's not for me

Josh wanted nothing to do with it after smelling it. Apparently Josh doesn't like things flavored with bay leaves. He compared it to a meal I made once before that he didn't like. I understood none of this comparison though, because that meal had chicken, bacon, corn, and edamame. Nothing in common with this soup. He claimed there was a smoky scent that he didn't like. I guess bay leaves can be a little smoky in scent. But really, I think he's just crazy. Anyway, it's quite possible that most people will really enjoy this recipe. We aren't two of them however, so I doubt I will ever make this again.

Vegetarian Lentil Soup with Croutons
Recipe from Everyday Food; Serves 4












2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
Coarse salt and ground pepper
2 carrots, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
1 bag (1 pound) brown lentils, picked over
2 cans (14 1/2 ounces each) reduced-sodium vegetable broth
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 dried bay leaf
4 ounces sourdough bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 1 1/2 cups)

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium. Add onion and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, 1 minute. Add carrots, lentils, broth, bay leaf, cayenne, and 3 1/2 cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, partially covered, until lentils are just tender, about 20 minutes. Discard the bay leaf.
• Meanwhile, on a rimmed baking sheet, toss bread with remaining tablespoon oil; season with salt and pepper. Bake until golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes, tossing once halfway through. Serve soup topped with croutons.

My notes: I cut this recipe in half, which I am very glad of, cause otherwise I would have been disposing of twice as much soup. Nothing went wrong with this recipe, we just didn't like it.

My grilled cheese however, rocked!

Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Recipe from me















Sourdough bread
Extra-sharp cheddar cheese
Crumbled feta
Butter

• Slather butter on the exterior side of the bread slices. Apply layer of cheddar cheese on one slice and sprinkle light layer of crumbled feta on top. Complete the sandwich format by topping with other bread slice.
• Cook in small frying pan over medium heat till cheese is starting to melt and bread is golden and toasty. Flip carefully to toast other side. Remove and enjoy, but don't burn your mouth!
  

False Alarm

This is another one of the first recipes I tried when Josh and I started changing our diet. It can be a little time consuming with all the chopping involved, but it's worth it in my opinion. It's so hearty and filling while still being great for you. And it makes plenty for leftovers too. I had to edit this post, cause I forgot that I totally wanted to use it as my entry in The Well-Seasoned Cook's Legume Love Affair Event, which you can read more about here. This recipe is legume crazy!

False Alarm Vegetable Chili
Recipe from Martha Stewart; Serves 10












2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped into 1/2" pieces
1 red bell pepper, chopped into 1/2" pieces
1 large carrot, chopped medium
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound dried lentils, rinsed
1/3 cup tomato paste
1 15 oz. can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 15 oz. can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
28 oz. can stewed tomatoes
1/3 cup chili powder
4 teaspoons ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon crushed red-pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• In a large soup pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion, green and red peppers, carrots, jalapeño, and garlic. Cook until vegetables soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in 7 cups water, lentils, tomato paste, kidney beans, and pinto beans. Stir to blend, adding stewed tomatoes, chili powder, cumin, and crushed red-pepper.
• Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until lentils are tender, about 45 minutes. If the chili starts to dry out, add hot water as needed. Season with salt and pepper, and serve immediately.

My notes: I cut this recipe in half since it's meant to serve 10. That means I have half peppers and half beans, so I make sure to plan other things through the week to use these up. I already used the other half of the peppers on that pizza over the weekend.