Cabbage soup and a glass of wine, therapy for a long drive

To think I thought Seattle traffic was bad and Michigan would be a piece of cake. Apparently not! This morning it took me 15 minutes door-to-door; tonight was over an hour to getting home. I was the kind of frustrated only a glass of wine and some soothing food would fix, so the soup was on. I had all the right ingredients to make a simple soup on hand, in my kitchen. Making a soup is such a simple process, and yields so much product with flavors as simple or complex as you want them to be. After a soothing half hour at the counter and stove, I sat down to a tasty and healthy meal with a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon (nothing fancy, so I won't bore you with the details) and let my drive stress float away. After all, I'll be doing it again tomorrow.

As a side note to impromptu recipes: I seem to still be too nervous to try out food experiments on the boy for fear of a bad reaction, things I did not concern myself with too much while living with the girls. Thanks ladies ;) Apparently I love you as testers for strange concoctions, admittedly not always with good results. But tonight was just me and a bottle of red (No, of course not the whole bottle! ... I wouldn't be writing this right now, that is for sure!) so I just threw the cut veggies in the pot, and let it rip. With a decent return on my investment of time and resources, I'm am pleased to count this soup experiment successful!

Cabbage/Potato/Millet Soup

(I really roughed this out, so feel free to take the idea and run with it in any direction you wish ;)

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 Onion, diced

2 Carrots, diced

2 Celery stalks, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

Stalks from a bunch of broccoli* (I just had it in the fridge, but feel free to omit)

1 Quart of Chicken or Vegetable stock

1 Tb Vinegar (I learned in school, you've gotta have the acid! use apple cider or champagne for this one)

1 bay leaf

1/2 tsp dry oregano (and whatever herbs/spices sound good to you!)

1/2 cup Millet

3 Red potatoes, peel and dice (if you do this while the mirepoix sweats, you won't end up with brown potatoes)

1/4 head Cabbage, thinly sliced

Salt and pepper, to taste

1. Heat the oil over medium heat, add the onion, carrots, celery & a pinch of salt, and cook for about 8-10 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic and cook an additional 30 seconds. 

2.  Stir in the stock, add the bay leaf, oregano, millet & potatoes and bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer and cook for 6 minutes.  Then, stir in the cabbage and cook for 10-15 more minutes, or until potatoes, grains and veggies reach desired textures. Salt and pepper as you see like. That's it!

*When trimming broccoli stalks, I do end up with a lot of waste, as it is a fairly fibrous part of the veggie. Better to use it, than toss it though! I did not blend this soup and the pieces are eaten whole, so I want it all gone. Trim all the exterior of the stalk, so you just have the middle portion that is much lighter in color and dice like you would normally. 

The Story of the Lentils

Let's go back though to January and the first (and only) time I visited Scott in Michigan before I moved here. As we planned our weekend over the phone he asked if there was anything in particular I would like him to pick up at the grocery store. Of course I said yes and gave him a small list. Later in the week we were talking and he mentioned getting the groceries, the lentils being particularly challenging to find. Wait, what? The lentils, I had "asked for", they were hard to find, but with some help he managed to get them. Well, let me tell you, I did not ask for lentils. He thinks I did, but I did not! Either way, that weekend we made dinner, but not with lentils! They remained in the cupboard for the last 4 months, a source for many jokes between us over that time. Last Sunday as I planned out our first week of meals I looked through his pantry. There it was, a bag of green lentils and figured those must be part of the plan. Lentil soup was something I knew I could make without a recipe. So, on Wednesday night we had on a big pot of lentil soup with rosemary-olive oil bread (a Britt favorite!). We both had soup for lunch the following day and I froze a quart of it for later; I do not know how to make a small pot of soup!

I'm sitting here in my chair at Scott's house, basking in the rays of sun and the quiet around me. I think I'm discovering just how much I like alone time (shh, don't tell him that!). It's beautiful outside and I'm gearing up to head out to the nursery for some plant starts, inspired by the weather of course. There's a head cold working it's way through me, so only low impact trips today. Maybe I'll sit on the balcony for a little while first. Yeah, that sounds good.
Still to come... posts on Rye-Sotto, and Quinoa-Rice Milk breakfast "porridge". I have yet to locate my Grain Girls book in amongst my packing. I know I put it somewhere "easy to find", so of course I can't find it!

Lentil Soup, makes about 3-4 quarts
1.5 cups lentils, soaked for about 30 minutes to an hour
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper
1 Onion, small dice
2 cloves garlic
2 carrots, small dice
2 celery stalks, small dice
1 bell pepper
1 can diced tomatoes, 28oz (I like fire roasted for added flavor)
Chicken or Vegetable Stock, 1 quart
Water, as much as needed (see below)
Herbs (fresh or dried) Oregano, Thyme, Rosemary
1 Bay Leaf
Pinch of Cayenne Pepper (optional)
Cooked pasta, I used Orecchiette Rigate - "little ears" (optional, & gluten free without pasta)

-Heat a large pot over medium heat, then add the olive oil. Add the onion and a pinch of salt, sweating for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds before adding the carrots, celery and bell pepper. Cook all the veggies for about 10 minutes.
-Add the can of tomatoes, the stock, the lentils and enough water so everything is submerged with room to spare. The lentils will soak up the liquid and you may need to add more. Add your herbs, spices and another large pinch of salt (seasoning throughout cooking ensures great flavor) and bring it up to a boil.
-Turn down to simmer for approximately 30 minutes. Taste the soup and continue cooking only until the lentils are not gritty. Season to taste. Serve over cooked pasta and with Rosemary-Olive Oil loaf (a Brittany fav!) like we did.