Friday, September 28, 2012

Soup, there it is

I made this Lentil soup for dinner
last night. Picture and recipe here.
It was super good.
I love making soups, but
have never made Lentil soup before...
I have always been a bit intimidated by
the lentil, but for no good reason.
Will definitely make this one again.
~
Lentil Soup
1 large brown onion, quartered
2 large carrots, peeled and
roughly chopped
1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano leaves
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 T. olive oil
3 bay leaves
1 1/2 cups dried green lentils
2 (14 oz.) cans diced tomatoes
(I used fire roasted)
3 tsp. sugar
4 cups vegetable stock
(I used chicken stock, because
 that is what I had)
3 cups water
2 T. red wine vinegar
Sea Salt & cracked black pepper
Large handful parsley leaves,
chopped roughly
2/3 cup Greek yogurt
1 cucumber, halved lenghways, seeded
and grated
1 tsp. finely grated lemon rind
~
Directions:
Process onion, carrot, celery, oregano leaves and
3 cloves of garlic in food processor to form a
chunky paste.
Heat oil in saucepan over med-high heat.
Cook vegetable mixture and bay leaves,
stirring occasionally, for 15 min.
Add lentils and stir to coat.
Add tomato, sugar, stock and water.
Bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to med.,
and cook, stirring occasionally for about
45 min., until lentils are firm, but tender.
Cook longer for softer lentils.
Stir in vinegar and season with salt and pepper.
Cook for another 5 mins.
Stir through most of the chopped parsley.
Combine yogurt, cucumber, lemon zest, and
remaining garlic. Season with salt and pepper
to taste.
Ladle soup into bowls. Dollop a generous
spoonful of cucumber, yogurt mixture
on top of soup and sprinkle with a
bit of fresh parsley.
~
Yummaroonie!


Sunday, September 23, 2012

Another year...

We celebrated our
22 anniversary last night.
Darryl picked up a bottle of Prosecco,
Santa Margarita... my favorite.
Good job honey!
(Self photo)
I had Seared scallops,
(they reminded me of the ones we
served at the Fish Co.)
with creamy corn risotto...
delicious!

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Movie night

 Watched this movie last night.
Le Chocolat
Juliette Binoche, Johnny Depp,
and Judi Denche.
I decided to buy the movie
at our local used movie store,
only $4.99
I forgot just how much I
enjoyed this movie.
Makes you want to eat chocolate
for sure... especially love the dinner
party scenes for Armande, and
the river boat party afterwards..
but love the whole movie.
Will watch over and over.
~

Monday, September 3, 2012

Labor Day

We had kind of a quiet
Labor Day.
No BBQ, no big pool party,
we just relaxed.
I did make these
cherry cheesecakes
in a jar.
 Oreo cookie crust - mmmm
 Cherry Cheesecake
12 Oreo cookies, finely crushed
2 T. butter, melted
2 1/2 (8 oz.) pkgs. cream cheese,
softened
1/2 C. sugar
2 t. vanilla
1 T. lemon zest
1/2 C. sour cream
2 eggs
Cherry pie filling
~
Blend Oreo cookies in food processor till
finely ground, add melted butter and mix.
press cookie crumbs into bottom of jars
and set aside.
In mixer, blend cream cheese, sour cream,
and sugar till smooth.
Add vanilla, flour, and lemon zest.
Then eggs - one at
a time.
Pour into jars.
Bake at 325 for about 25 min.,
in a water bath.
Carefully remove from water bath
and cool completely before adding
cherry topping.
Cool for about 2 hours before
serving.
 ~