On a cold night, what do you crave? SOUP!

And that's a lot of what I've been eating the past coupla days. In an attempt to cleanse myself of bad bacteria, I'm taking a break from sugar. This hearty Provençal soup, paired with a movie on the couch with the roomies, adequately distracted me from any dessert cravings. Success!



Yellow Split Pea Soup
serves 6

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 carrot, diced
1 stalk of celery, diced
1 bay leaf
2 cups dried yellow split peas, rinsed
5 cups water
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 1/2 teaspoons Herbes de Provence
1 teaspoon sea salt
4 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Saute the mirepoix with the bay leaf in olive oil until slightly softened. Add split peas, water and almond milk, then sprinkle with salt and Herbes de Provence. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the potatoes and continue to simmer until potatoes can be pierced with a fork. Taste and adjust your seasonings.

Cold and cold

Gainesville is around 30 degrees outside (darn cold for Florida!) and I am a snivelling mess of congestion. Gotta work on getting better quick, before school really starts to go nuts. To this end, I threw together an ever-so-comforting lentil soup.

At the heart of this soup is a mirepoix, the fancy French term for onions, carrots and celery chopped and sauteed in oil or butter - a fantastic place for any savory dish to begin. Recipe courtesy of Mom, bien sûr, so in lieu of a picture, here's a video tutorial from my momma and her friend, Dee. These industrious ladies launched a Youtube cooking show to prove they could make truly delicious vegan food that even their omnivorous husbands could enjoy.



Tender Lovin' Lentils
serves 4

olive oil
1 medium onion
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped celery
1 bag green lentils
32 oz. vegetable broth
1 bunch parsley
1 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes
s&p

Heat a large pot on medium-high. Give it one or two turns of olive oil, then add onion. Saute until onions are soft. Add the lentils, coat them with oil, then toast for a couple minutes. Add the celery and carrots and continue to saute. Pour in the vegetable broth, and toss in the parsley and tomatoes.

Crank the heat to high. Bring it to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

[EDIT] This is how cold it is here:

Photo courtesy of Hard Work