Lentil and Fire-Roasted Tomato Soup for the Soul

I remember the moment distinctly. When she noticed. When she asked me about it. Back in the days when I would drive my 5-year-old daughter 30 minutes to attend a 30-minute "ballet" class and then, 30 minutes back home, all with her younger brother in tow. Back when I didn't make things very easy on myself.

Darkness had already settled over the city. We were making our way back across the river. The White Stag was lit up in all his glory and the kids were trying to spot Big Pink. Our car was brought to a halt at the far end of the bridge. We waited for the light to turn in our favor.

Directly outside our car window was a man, in tattered clothes, going through a dumpster. Looking for food, perhaps? Clothing? A blanket?

My daughter noticed and immediately asked me, "Mommy, what is that man doing?"

What do you say? How do you explain "homelessness"?

So, I did the best I could to try to explain being homeless to a 5-year old. When I was finished with my dissertation, she says to me, "Mommy, if we couldn't buy food we wouldn't have to worry. We could just go to Costco and eat the tasters."

If only it was that easy.

Maybe you're like me, I don't know, but I struggle with how to help someone who is homeless. Do I give him money? Buy him some food? Point her to a shelter? Act like I'm busy and look the other way?

When Transition Projects asked me if I would highlight their organization here on La Pomme and give an extra-special shout out to their Soup for the Soul fundraising event taking place Thursday, February 24th, I said, "Absolutely!"

Years ago I was involved in a different fundraising event for Transition Projects and what I came to love about this particular organization is the way in which they not only shelter someone who is homeless but literally provide him with all of his basic needs. Once those needs are met, Transition Projects can then help that person build up the skills he needs to become self-reliant and overcome barriers to housing and income.

And it is quite eye opening when Transition Projects gives these residents, formerly homeless people, cameras and asks them to photograph where they once slept.

An incredibly basic human need.

A safe place to sleep.

I feature some of their photographs here. The whole collection has been gathered into a book called, Where I Slept: Being Homeless in Portland.

So, perhaps you and your sweetie weren't able to properly celebrate Valentine's Day. Instead you were surrounded by youngsters who think of this holiday of love as the second-coming of Santa Claus. Why not consider a romantic evening out at Soup for the Soul?

Lentil and Fire-Roasted Tomato Soup

In honor of Soup for the Soul, I present to you one of my heartier soup recipes. I love to make this soup when it's rainy and cold and something warm sounds so inviting. I find that we eat a lot of "brown" food in the winter and one thing I particularly like about this dish is the color found popping out of every spoonful. From the bright orange carrots to the red tomatoes to the vibrant green spinach. Those colors give me an extra added boost of energy I desperately need this time of year.

As for the ingredients I have listed below....if you don't have the cheese rind or fresh parsley, don't sweat it. You might need an extra pinch or two of salt or pepper. Maybe an extra sprinkle of grated parmesan. And of course, regular tomatoes can be used in place of the fire-roasted ones. But don't skimp on the French green lentils. They really make a difference in soup. They hold their shape better than other types of lentils.


Ingredients:

1 c French green lentils (sometimes known as Du Puy)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 leeks chopped, white and light green parts only (could substitute 1 lg yellow onion)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 c celery, diced (about 2-3 stalks)
1 c carrots, peeled and diced (about 2 large)
2 Bay leaves
1/2 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper
a bit of parmesan cheese rind
3 tbsp chopped fresh Italian parsley (plus more for garnish)
8 c (2 qts) low-sodium chicken broth
1 28 oz can fire-roasted tomatoes, diced
3 c baby spinach leaves
freshly grated parmesan cheese

Optional: 1 lb kielbasa or other pre-cooked sausage links, diced

Directions:

Put your lentils in a medium bowl. Pour enough boiling water over them to cover by 2 inches. Set aside for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat a large soup pot over medium heat. Add your olive oil. Once heated, add your leeks, garlic, celery, carrots, Bay leaves, salt and pepper. Saute over medium-low heat for 8-10 minutes or until your vegetables have started to soften.

Next, add your cheese rind, parsley, chicken broth, tomatoes and lentils. Bring to a boil. Then, reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.

Stir in your spinach leaves and simmer another 10 minutes or until lentils are softened. If you are adding in sausage, spoon it into the pot now as well.

Ladle into bowls. Sprinkle on grated parmesan cheese and chopped parsley. Enjoy.


Yield: One big pot-full

All original text and photographs copyright: Carrie Minns 2009-2010

Day 1 & Day 2

Here we sit at the beginning of a new decade, a new year, a new start and while I'm not one for resolutions (just one more thing to manage in a long list of To Do's)...I was intrigued to take on Project 365 by Miss Hannah of honey & jam. And, may I say that you MUST, absolutely, hurry on over to her incredible website. Her photographs are beautiful....and she's only 19...or something like that.

I plan to post one photo representing every day in 2010 on my flickr page. I may post them one at a time or they may come in a flurry...but by the end of 2010, I hope to be able to look back at a year that took me, you, our fragile country in a new direction and I thought you might enjoy knowing about this little project. If you would like to check in and see how I'm doing, just click on the "flickr badge" on the lower right-hand side of this page. From there, click on the set of photos, entitled, "2010 at a Glance" and you can see my ever growing bunch of pictures.

And, let me not allow another minute to pass before I say that I would never have felt inspired to post even one picture, let alone an entire year of photos, if it weren't for your kind words and gentle encouragement, dear friends. Thank you. I hope to follow in your footsteps and be more forthcoming in my sincere and genuine compliments to others because you never know how it may change their lives.

Day 1

The day is misty. A lentil soup is on the stove. The Rose Bowl is on the TV and my sweetie is in front of it. The children, still in their jammies, ramble about the house amongst the strewn gifts. I sip my wine and contentedly stir my soup.

Day 2

A rare day indeed. Just me and the middle child. We lapse in and out of silence en route to the library. I enjoy my latte. The topic of his chatter is lost on me. I'm simply soaking up his presence.

All original text and photographs copyright: Carrie Minns 2009-2010

Portland Food Carts: Savor Soup House

Once every six weeks or so, I enter “La Salon” and I emerge…drum roll, please…The Breck Shampoo girl. Silky, smooth, flip through the air hair. Fan anyone? All the days in between, I prefer the air-dry method for my crazy, curly hair that can only be tamed with a hair band – in other words, I, yikes, tend to leave the house with wet hair. Every mother’s nightmare which I can attest to seeing as when on the very rare occasion that my own daughter leaves with wet hair I cringe and yet, here I am, a grown woman doing it more often than she. (And, in case you were wondering if this is a genetically passed down defect…no. My own mother never looks anything but beautifully put together at all moments of every day and she has never…I repeat NEVER...left the house with wet hair or without her lipstick on. My sister can back me up on this one.)

To my good fortune, once I emerge from “La Salon”, I am but a few, hair-flipping steps away from the Portland Food Carts at Southwest 10th and Alder. Those food carts that have created quite the buzz around town. What Karen Brooks of The Oregonian calls, “[Those] block-long shantytowns that are the food courts of the future.” And she goes on to further report that there are 450 of them around town with 32 more under review. My, my! I find them intriguing. I’ll eat almost anything…but my family won’t…so I look at those food carts as a chance for me to enlighten my taste buds without the accompanied whining from the boys and without having to pay a babysitter. And, what’s more, I have wanted to set a goal for myself to try each one but in years past, my trip to “La Salon” never coincided with enough time but now, new school year, new schedule…new goal.

In all my sassiness, I practically skipped the half block to my destination. And, what could only make a good hair day better, was the gentle breeze about, swirling up the crispy, yellow maple leaves. The air was warm – 65 degrees warm - and the sun was set in the sky at just the right angle to render a glistening effect on everything it touched. A perfect fall day in Portland. I didn’t make it far into the “shantytown” as first on my list to try was “Savor Soup House” which managed to snag a perfect bit of real estate right on the corner. I love soup. I’m drawn to places serving soup and so…soup it was.

While I waited…and waited….and waited…for my turn (good things come to those who wait, right?)…I struggled with whether to try the Potato Leek Soup topped with fried leeks or the Red Lentil Stew with butternut squash and saffron topped with peanuts and cilantro and served over brown rice. And not to mention, the menu for the “Grilled Cheese Bar – Create Your Masterpiece!” looked particularly tantalizing as well. I also wondered where I would sit once I had my soup. I noticed that some tables had signs with proprietorship designated on them and some did not. A Portlander at the single table for “Savor Soup House” graciously offered to share hers with a young couple with a delightful drawl to their speech and their 3-year old son with his new “Artoo Potatoo” in hand. Still waiting, I watched as an older gentleman in rolled up army fatigue pants pushed his bike along the sidewalk. A dog carrier attached to the back and a shih tzu curled up in a basket attached to the front. From the west of me drifted the sounds of the Clan Macleay Pipe Band and from the east, a solo, electric guitar sending out hits from the 70s – Stairway to Heaven, Into the Mystic, Old Man. And, occasionally, a car alarm would go off and take center stage.

My turn, at last. I chose the Lentil Stew since it was the special of the day. I figured I could have the Potato Leek anytime. I gratefully took my bundle of soup and bread from the one-woman show and set off to find a place to sit and enjoy my meal. Passing the tables clearly marked with ownership, I sat down at what appeared to be a free table. No sooner had I planted my bahookie than a woman waving a dishrag came flying out of the Snow White Crepe Cart shooing me away from my location like a mouse in the kitchen. Note to self: Table proprietorship is very strict here in the Portland Food Carts. I finally saddled up to a “street lighting” box, used it as a table and set out my meal. And, although, my soup was less than piping hot at this point, I still enjoyed every mouthful of butternut squash mingled with the lentils, chopped peanuts, cilantro and rice. I breathed deeply. I looked up and marveled at the way the light, the buildings and the trees created such a dazzling spectacle. I noticed that the man with the shih tzu was sitting at the table from where I had been shooed, eating a crepe. A couple high on something more than life added their color to the picture and the battle of the bands continued in the background as I devoured every scrumptious mouthful.

Without glancing at a watch (since I don’t actually wear one seeing as that they are all in my watch graveyard with dead batteries,) I could tell that my carriage was just about to turn into a pumpkin. School would be out soon and some little ones would be waiting for me. I tossed my empty bowl in the can and began making my way out of the food cart village. I read through the signs of establishments that may become future dining experiences. And then, me and my “sassy hair blowing in the wind” headed back up the street, past the Macleay Pipe Band, to the car and back home.

All original text and photos copyright: Carrie Minns 2009

Lentil Soup for a Blustery Day

Despite its self-proclaimed “Day of Rest”, I was exhausted from the weekend. The morning was dark until way past 8am. I was sleepy. I knew that exercising would help clear my mind but I was too tired to exercise. I stared out the window as the torrential rain rammed against the side of our house. The deluge of water that cascaded down our window reminded me that the gutter that was broken the last time it rained was, in fact, still broken. I thought of my daughter who had bounded out the door not but 15 minutes ago, late for the bus and without a jacket. My gaze fell onto the lawn. The lawn that two days ago had but nary a leaf on it thanks to yours truly. Sigh. Now, it was covered again with autumn’s version of snow.

“Curses!” I suddenly called out to no one in particular. I realized that in my grogginess of the prior evening, I had failed to set out the yard debris bin. “Ah...two weeks til I can try again. Two more weeks of leaves and a yard bin that is already full to the brim….gads.”

All I really wanted to do was crawl back in bed. And, sleep. Me, the cat and the sound of rain. But, the thought of me, luxuriously napping away while my sweetie was out “hunting and gathering” was just too guilt ridden. So, I shuffled into my office, opened up my laptop and willed myself to be productive. I sifted through emails and then, somehow found myself immersed in a two-hour one-hour project of transferring all of my favorite blogs and websites over to delicious. I can tell that you are secretly chuckling at me. Chuckling because you too know what it means to wile away the time out in cyberspace. When the joy of tagging websites eventually began to wane, I did what any woman in my state of mind would do…I went shopping. For, food.

I guided my car down the leaf-covered roads. With no children, the car was quiet. Only the sound of tires on wet pavement. Walking through the parking lot of my favorite grocery store, a seagull, so far from the sea, squawked at me from atop a streetlight. Trying to beat the next shower, I hurried inside and saddled right up to the counter to order myself a Stumptown “non-fat latte with a splash of vanilla, please.” And then, I slowly wound myself in and out of aisles. Simply taking the time to take it all in.

Back in front of my kitchen sink, I listened to my rainy day favorite, while I chopped up onions, leeks, carrots and celery. Children arrived home from school. Plopped down with books. Worked on homework. Ran outside and returned, when dinner was called, with bright red cheeks and a freshness about them.

With a bowl of soup in front of us and bread and apples within reach, we all sat around the table. We talked about nothing in particular but we talked. We laughed. We ate. And, I thought, if I have done one thing today…I have fed my family. And, maybe, for today, that’s enough.

Lentil Soup for a Blustery Day

(Adapted from Ina Garten’s Lentil Sausage Soup)

¾ lb or 1½ c of French green lentils such as du Puy

1/8 c olive oil

2 large, yellow onions, diced (approx 4 c)

2 leeks, chopped, white and light green parts only

2 large garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp salt

¾ tsp black pepper

1 tbls fresh thyme leaves, minced OR 1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp cumin

2 c diced celery

2 c diced carrots

3 quarts chicken broth

¼ c tomato paste OR a 15 oz can diced tomatoes

1 pound kielbasa, cut in half lengthwise and then, sliced 1/3 inch thick

2 tbls dry red wine or red wine vinegar, optional

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese for serving.

In a large bowl, cover the lentils with boiling water (or water from your “insta-hot”) and allow them to sit for 15 minutes. Drain and set aside. Please note that you must use the french green lentils when you are making this soup. The regular ole brown ones just turn to mush and well, mush, especially when it's brown in color, is just not that appetizing.

In a LARGE stock-pot over medium heat, heat the olive oil, then, sauté your onions, leeks, garlic, salt, pepper, thyme and cumin for about 20 minutes or until the vegetables are soft and translucent. As I am always pressed for time, I chop my onions, and then add them to the pot. Then, the next vegetable and so on rather than stockpiling and adding them all to the pot at once. Even if each vegetable wasn’t sautéed for exactly 20 minutes, it doesn’t seem to affect the final product.

Add the carrots and celery and sauté for another 10 minutes or so. Then, add the chicken stock, tomato paste (or tomatoes) and drained lentils, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 40 minutes or until the lentils are cooked through and tender. (Or you can do what I did this night and find that fine line between simmer and boil, which seems to cook the lentils in about 30 minutes.) Add the kielbasa and red wine and simmer until the kielbasa is hot about 5 more minutes. Ladle into bowls, sprinkle with grated Parmesan and enjoy.

Yield: About 8 to 10 servings

Now, before you write this recipe off as way too much chopping, please note that this makes a huge batch. And, what’s more, this soup makes a great lunch for you or your little buddies the next day. Nothing more comforting than opening up a thermos of scrumptious lentil soup at school or work…especially on a blustery, “indoor recess” kind of day.

PS: For you vegetarians out there, I’ve also made this soup without the kielbasa. Exchanged vegetable broth for chicken broth and added a 28 oz can of drained, fire roasted tomatoes instead of tomato paste. Delicious.

All original text and photos copyright: Carrie Minns 2009