(no subject)
I've been enormously lazy ever since I got back to Boston (starting with sleeping for almost fourteen hours the night after I got back), hence the lack of posting. There's nothing very exciting to report! I've been gradually tidying things up in the house in preparation for roommate J's return from Switzerland, and gradually acquiring foodstuffs and other necessities, and cooking at the rate of one item a day.
So, on Thursday, I made a nice leek and lentil soup; on Friday, I made granola; and yesterday, I made a pan of cornbread. OM NOM NOM. I think yogurt to go with the granola is up today.
Anyway, before I move on to other content, of which there is little, I feel strongly that the recipe for the leek and lentil soup I made on Thursday (and once over the holidays at home) needs to be shared beyond the cadre of Canadian Living readers and subscribers. So here it is, with the addition of my suggestions:
Leek and Lentil Soup
1 celery root (about 1.5 lb/750g)
2 tbsp/25 mL olive or vegetable oil
1 tsp/5 mL fennel seeds
5 cups/1.25 L chopped (white and light green parts) leeks (or about 3)
1 1/2 cups/375 mL chopped onion [one medium or large onion is fine here]
1 bay leaf
1 1/4 tsp/6 mL salt
1/4 tsp/1 mL pepper [or keep grinding for however long feels right to you]
1/3 cup/75 mL green lentils [or brown or puy] [dry]
1 tsp/5 mL curry powder
6 cups/1.5 L water
1 tbsp/15 mL lemon juice
I added:
3 smallish potatoes
3 cups/750 mL broth (substituted for half the water)
an extra 1/3-1/2 cup lentils
an extra half teaspoon of fennel seeds
extra curry powder
1) Trim and dice celery root [and potatoes] to make 4 cups (1 L); set aside.
2) In Dutch oven [or any large pot], heat oil over medium heat; cook fennel seeds, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
3) Add leeks, onion, salt and pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 8 minutes.
4) Stir in celery root [and potatoes] and curry powder; cook for 5 minutes. Add water [and/or broth], add lentils and bay leaf, and bring to boil; reduce heat, cover and simmer until flavourful and lentils and vegetables are tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Stir in lemon juice [or not, if you're me].
Makes 8 to 10 servings. Per each of 10 sevings: about 90 calories, 3 g protein, 2 g total fat, 17 g carbohydrates, 3 g fibre, 0 mg cholesterol, 356 mg sodium, 331 mg potassium. % RDI: 5% calcium, 14% iron, 12% vitamin C, 25% folate. (From Canadian Living Magazine, October 2009, pp. 121-22.)
My notes:
Don't worry too much about the exact quantities of leeks/celery root/potatoes. Or anything else, really. If you add a lot more lentils, you might need to add a little more water/broth, although if you don't like your soup too runny, you may not want to. This was a little tastier with part pre-prepared vegetable broth than it was made from straight water. I used one of the Campbell's pre-prepared vegetable broths with low sodium and probably organic - the ones that come in the 1L tetra packs. That was before I came back to Boston, so my mom bought it and I just poured it in. A homemade veggie stock would also work well (and be lower in salt). Very nice with any kind of warm homemade crusty bread with lots of seeds.
Now, as for other content, which is sparse, first I must whine that the MAA has failed to mail me anything over the break despite promises to the contrary. I am not feeling trusting at the moment, and the irrational conclusion I am mostly, but not completely, managing to banish is that there's been some horrible mistake and they don't want to tell me.
Second, I must whine about the travel channel, which I was watching last night, as my brain cells began to wither one by one in anguish. I watched the countdown of the top ten castles of Britain, and then the countdown of the top ten bridges of the world. Guesses for top bridge? You don't even have to guess, do you? Both countdowns were immensely stupid yet compelling. I was, however, greatly educated in what travel channel programmers (and perhaps viewers) think of as medieval - nothing before 1200, and mostly fifteenth-century stuff, except, of course the Tower of London. And so many crown jewels. Why the obsession with crown jewels, Americans? And I was really miffed that Dover Castle wasn't included, just saying. As for the bridges, meh. They were heavily biased towards urban suspension bridges. The Golden Gate Bridge as #1 was completely redundant after the very similar but much larger one in Japan that was #2, and London Bridge in Lake Havasu, WTF? If they'd called it "most iconic bridges," okay, but they didn't. And they were sadly missing rail bridges/trestles (except for the Firth of Forth Bridge, which was, admittedly, pretty cool), and non-suspension type bridges, for the most part, and bridges in the mountains. And, you know, Canadian bridges. Like oh, the Confederation Bridge, or the new Kickinghorse Canyon Park Bridge, or even the new Bennett Bridge in Kelowna. No love for the floating bridges, travel channel? Feh.
So, on Thursday, I made a nice leek and lentil soup; on Friday, I made granola; and yesterday, I made a pan of cornbread. OM NOM NOM. I think yogurt to go with the granola is up today.
Anyway, before I move on to other content, of which there is little, I feel strongly that the recipe for the leek and lentil soup I made on Thursday (and once over the holidays at home) needs to be shared beyond the cadre of Canadian Living readers and subscribers. So here it is, with the addition of my suggestions:
Leek and Lentil Soup
1 celery root (about 1.5 lb/750g)
2 tbsp/25 mL olive or vegetable oil
1 tsp/5 mL fennel seeds
5 cups/1.25 L chopped (white and light green parts) leeks (or about 3)
1 1/2 cups/375 mL chopped onion [one medium or large onion is fine here]
1 bay leaf
1 1/4 tsp/6 mL salt
1/4 tsp/1 mL pepper [or keep grinding for however long feels right to you]
1/3 cup/75 mL green lentils [or brown or puy] [dry]
1 tsp/5 mL curry powder
6 cups/1.5 L water
1 tbsp/15 mL lemon juice
I added:
3 smallish potatoes
3 cups/750 mL broth (substituted for half the water)
an extra 1/3-1/2 cup lentils
an extra half teaspoon of fennel seeds
extra curry powder
1) Trim and dice celery root [and potatoes] to make 4 cups (1 L); set aside.
2) In Dutch oven [or any large pot], heat oil over medium heat; cook fennel seeds, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
3) Add leeks, onion, salt and pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 8 minutes.
4) Stir in celery root [and potatoes] and curry powder; cook for 5 minutes. Add water [and/or broth], add lentils and bay leaf, and bring to boil; reduce heat, cover and simmer until flavourful and lentils and vegetables are tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Stir in lemon juice [or not, if you're me].
Makes 8 to 10 servings. Per each of 10 sevings: about 90 calories, 3 g protein, 2 g total fat, 17 g carbohydrates, 3 g fibre, 0 mg cholesterol, 356 mg sodium, 331 mg potassium. % RDI: 5% calcium, 14% iron, 12% vitamin C, 25% folate. (From Canadian Living Magazine, October 2009, pp. 121-22.)
My notes:
Don't worry too much about the exact quantities of leeks/celery root/potatoes. Or anything else, really. If you add a lot more lentils, you might need to add a little more water/broth, although if you don't like your soup too runny, you may not want to. This was a little tastier with part pre-prepared vegetable broth than it was made from straight water. I used one of the Campbell's pre-prepared vegetable broths with low sodium and probably organic - the ones that come in the 1L tetra packs. That was before I came back to Boston, so my mom bought it and I just poured it in. A homemade veggie stock would also work well (and be lower in salt). Very nice with any kind of warm homemade crusty bread with lots of seeds.
Now, as for other content, which is sparse, first I must whine that the MAA has failed to mail me anything over the break despite promises to the contrary. I am not feeling trusting at the moment, and the irrational conclusion I am mostly, but not completely, managing to banish is that there's been some horrible mistake and they don't want to tell me.
Second, I must whine about the travel channel, which I was watching last night, as my brain cells began to wither one by one in anguish. I watched the countdown of the top ten castles of Britain, and then the countdown of the top ten bridges of the world. Guesses for top bridge? You don't even have to guess, do you? Both countdowns were immensely stupid yet compelling. I was, however, greatly educated in what travel channel programmers (and perhaps viewers) think of as medieval - nothing before 1200, and mostly fifteenth-century stuff, except, of course the Tower of London. And so many crown jewels. Why the obsession with crown jewels, Americans? And I was really miffed that Dover Castle wasn't included, just saying. As for the bridges, meh. They were heavily biased towards urban suspension bridges. The Golden Gate Bridge as #1 was completely redundant after the very similar but much larger one in Japan that was #2, and London Bridge in Lake Havasu, WTF? If they'd called it "most iconic bridges," okay, but they didn't. And they were sadly missing rail bridges/trestles (except for the Firth of Forth Bridge, which was, admittedly, pretty cool), and non-suspension type bridges, for the most part, and bridges in the mountains. And, you know, Canadian bridges. Like oh, the Confederation Bridge, or the new Kickinghorse Canyon Park Bridge, or even the new Bennett Bridge in Kelowna. No love for the floating bridges, travel channel? Feh.
