winter dinner for summer

treated myself with some flowers today. flowers (and bugs) were part of what opened my heart to photography. through my camera i could produce these (what i think are..) insane images of things we look at everyday but never really see. check this thing out. it’s got like 600 fingers. it’s alliivee.

i also got myself some dinner.

chives slithering down my cookbook. found their place.

slightly burnt cauliflower that i sprinkled with rosemary, a few chopped garlic cloves, olive oil, salt, and pepper – cook at 425°f for 35 mintes.

asparagus with parmesan, 2 tablespoons olive oil and balsamic. cook at 425°f for 20 minutes (i did both my veggies at the same time). add parmesan afterwards while it is still hot hot.

while the good good was in the oven i made like heidi swanson and curried my lentil soup, with a few of my own tweaks. heidi ho you are the greatest, this soup will be redone many times. sweet and creamy (with barely any coconut milk) and a spicy ZING. totally addicting. obsessed.

see here: onion, coconut oil, garlic, red pepper flakes, and jalapeño.

blended, it must be.

green lentil soup with browned butter curry adapted from heidi swanson

2 tablespoons coconut oil/unsalted butter/olive oil

1 large yellow onion, chopped

1 jalapeño, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

5 1/2 cups vegetable broth

1 1/2 cups green lentils, rinsed

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 tablespoon curry powder

1/2 cup coconut milk (i used tj’s reduced fat)

1 bunch of chives, chopped

salt

1. combine 2 tablespoons oil, onion, garlic, jalapeño, and red pepper flakes in a large soup pot over medium heat. stir regularly until the onions soften – a few minutes.

2. add vegetable broth and lentils. simmer, covered, until lentils are tender – about 30 minutes.

3. while the lentils are cooking, warm 3 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan over medium heat and let it brown. when it starts to brown stir in curry powder and saute until fragrant – less than 1 minute.

4. when the lentils are done, remove from heat and stir in the coconut milk and a pinch of salt. puree with a blender or immersion blender (but who seriously has one of these?) until smooth.

5. stir in half of the curried butter and add more salt if needed.

6. serve in large bowls with heaps of chives and top with a drizzle of the remaining curry-butter.

go ham.

Tags: asparagus, bake, balsamic, cauliflower, coconut oil, curried, curry, garlic, jalapeno, lentil, oil, olive oil, onion, parmesan, pepper flakes, red pepper flakes, rosemary, soup