The No-Cost Gift

What’s cooking? Curried Squash &  Red Lentil Soup with Parsley Oil

In this Age of Acrimony, the Kitchen Goddess has been thinking that maybe we just need to start small, rebuilding trust and good will on a truly local level. So here are a handful of suggestions – admittedly, not all of which are no-cost, but we have to start somewhere...

The truly no-cost gift

1. Shake someone’s hand, and while you do, look them in the eyes and tell them how glad you are to see them or how much you appreciate what they do or who they are in your life. If hand-shaking seems inappropriate, try putting your hand on his/her arm or shoulder. Scientific research now correlates physical touch with a broad assortment of benefits, including decreased violence, increased trust, greater well-being in terms of reduced cardiovascular stress and increased production of white blood cells, and increased cooperation.

2. Hold the door open for someone. Expressing kindness to others, even strangers, makes you feel better about yourself.

3. Take a moment to tell a sales clerk “Thank you.” It’s a pretty brutal time of year for those people – they have to find the energy after work to do their own shopping. So say something nice to them. Especially grocery store clerks – you have no idea how many of them get little acknowledgment of their work or their presence in your life.

The low-cost gift

1. Drop a $5 bill in a Salvation Army bucket, and thank the man/woman in the Santa suit for helping out.

2. Pay it forward. Cover the cost of the car behind you in line at your favorite drive-through. At one fast-food restaurant in Canada, the spirit was so infectious, it caught on for more than 200 cars in a row.

OK, maybe this one might cost more than a little

If you keep your eyes open, you’ll find opportunities everywhere. In my grocery store the other day, the elderly man in front of me was having a hard time making his credit card work. “Let’s use this one,” I said, as I swiped my card through the machine. When he realized I was offering to pay for his groceries, he was so overwhelmed, I thought he was going to hug me. The clerk and I just grinned at each other. Made my day, I can tell you.

And in the spirit of feeling warm and fuzzy, here’s the Kitchen Goddess’s gift to you. It takes about an hour and 15 minutes in total (even with the chopping!), as long as you can find pre-cut butternut squash – if not, add another 20 minutes. It’s gluten-free and lactose-free, and it tastes like a quiet evening in front of a crackling fire.

Kitchen Goddess notes: (1) Ginger is one of those herbs or spices that pack a tremendous punch in raw form – so much more than the powdered stuff. It may be the most important ingredient in this soup, so make an effort to pick up a nice big piece of ginger root at the grocery store for this recipe. Freeze what you don’t use – peeled or unpeeled – there’s always a knob of ginger in the KG’s freezer, and it’s almost easier to grate in the frozen state. To remove the skin – even when frozen – use a veggie peeler or scrape the edge of a spoon against the ginger. Grate it on a rasp.

(2) The Omani lime I mention is a great flavor-enhancer for soups and stews, especially ones like this with a Middle Eastern flavor. Small limes boiled briefly in salt brine, they are then dried in the sun for several weeks, until they start to resemble..., well, something that’s been boiled in salt brine and dried in the sun for weeks. Dimpled, musty smelling, and almost black on the inside. Sort of like some of the lemons and limes in the bottom of my fridge’s fruit drawer. Only these are rock hard and have an amazing citrus flavor. An article in The NY Times described them as “one of those power ingredients that can transform a whole range of dishes with virtually no effort on your part.” The KG gets hers from – where else? – amazon.com. A 4-ounce bag will run you about $8.

(3) The parsley oil (or cilantro oil) isn’t a must but it adds another level of flavor to this dish. I know, it sounds very frou-frou, but it’s really easy to make and will last quite a while in your fridge. If you make it with parsley, use only leaves (the stems are bitter); with cilantro, you can use leaves and stems.

Curried Squash and Red Lentil Soup

Adapted from a recipe by Ruth Cousineau in Gourmet magazine, February 2009

Serves 4-6 (main course)

Ingredients

For the soup:

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1½ pounds butternut squash, peeled and cut into ½-inch dice

1 large onion, diced (about 1¼ cups)

2-3 medium carrots, diced (¾ cup)

2 celery ribs plus leaves, diced (¾ cup)

3 large garlic cloves, minced

2½  tablespoons grated ginger

2 tablespoons mild (sweet) curry powder

½ teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon Aleppo pepper (can substitute ¼ teaspoon chili flakes or a dash of cayenne)

1 cup red lentils, picked over and rinsed

2 quarts water

6 teaspoons Knorr powdered Chicken Bouillon (or 3 large bouillon cubes)

1 dried Omani lime (optional – see Note above)

1-1½ teaspoons fresh lemon juice

For cilantro/parsley oil:

½ cup chopped cilantro (or parsley)

½ cup vegetable oil or grapeseed oil

½ teaspoon salt

Accompaniment: cooked basmati rice (optional)

Directions

In a large heavy pot over medium heat, melt the butter with the oil until the foam subsides. Add the squash, onion, carrots, celery, garlic, ginger, and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened, about 20 minutes.

Add the curry powder, cumin, and Aleppo pepper (or chili flakes) and cook, stirring constantly, for another 2 minutes.

Stir in the water, then add the lentils, the Knorr powder, and the dried lime (if you have any). Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook, covered, until lentils are tender, about 20 minutes.

While the soup is cooking, make the cilantro/parsley oil: purée the herb of your choice in a blender with the oil and the salt.

Take the soup off the heat and stir in the lemon juice plus ½ teaspoon salt. Discard the dried lime. If you like a creamier look, purée a cup or two of the soup in a blender, and add that back to the pot. Season to taste with additional salt and freshly ground black pepper. Drizzle about a teaspoon of the herb oil on each serving of soup.

The original recipe called for serving the soup over Basmati rice, but the Kitchen Goddess prefers it straight, and only adds rice when there’s not enough soup for a meal.

Happy holidays to you all, and may the spirit of giving embrace you and guide you throughout the year.

Good Intentions: Donut Go There What’s cooking? Red Lentil Soup

I only know about two people in this world who are not on a diet. (That would be you, Leslie, and I’m sure there’s at least one other person.) One of the remaining 99.9% met me for coffee the other day and asked – in the nicest way possible – if I might want to join her in starting up with Weight Watchers in 2016.

Let me say here that the WW folks have probably dedicated a building to me by now, given the number of times I’ve succumbed to their siren call. And, truth be told, it’s the only program that’s ever worked for me. But you can imagine how difficult it is for the Kitchen Goddess to stick to a regimen, regardless of my efforts or the flexibility of the program. Here’s one reason why.

Fully caffeinated and brimming with resolve, I headed from Starbucks to the grocery store, determined to buy only those things on the list in my hot little hand. And as I passed through the big glass doors, I very distinctly heard my brain say one word: “Donut.”

Not a scream, not a whisper, just a statement of fact. And – what the heck – Weight Watchers was a full three days away, and I hadn’t had lunch.

But it’s now a new year. And the Kitchen Goddess wants to be healthier, and she wants to help you be healthy, too. So while no one expects either of us to eschew sugar or fat entirely from our diets, there are lots of foods that go easy on those two ingredients while remaining both yummy and healthy, and I am going to find some of them for you. At least for January.

* * *

We’re going to start today with red lentils. Oh, don’t give me that look. I fed some to my prince last night and they were perfectly wonderful. I can hardly wait to have the leftovers for lunch. This recipe is a mash-up of one from Melissa Clark in The New York Times and a recent offering from Cook’s Illustrated. I’ve jazzed up the spices and included the carrots from Clark’s version, and I do believe you’ll love it. The onions and garlic and butter provide a hearty base for the delicate legumes, the tomato paste delivers the umami, and the spice mixture – sautéed to bring out all the lovely warm flavors – makes you feel as if you were being served in a tiny café near the marketplace in Marrakesh.

Red lentils are the Manolo Blahniks of the lentil world – the classy, glamorous cousins of green and brown lentils. Smaller than the green and brown varieties, they are a split and hulled version of yellow lentils, so they cook faster than the others. And without the hulls, the taste is sweeter and more like a vegetable than a bean. Other interesting factoids:

1. For those of you who notice these things, lentils are a rich source of several essential nutrients (folate, thiamin, phosphorus, iron, and zinc), as well as dietary fiber (11g/100g raw) and protein (25g). Low in readily digested starch and high in slowly digested starch, lentils are especially recommended for anyone with diabetes. Lentils have the second-highest ratio of protein per calorie of any legume, after soybeans.

2. Although lentils originated in Asia and North Africa, today, Canada and India make up more than half the world’s production. Much of India’s product is consumed domestically, so Canada is by far the largest export producer. The U.S. is the fifth largest, with production coming from Washington, Idaho, Montana, and North Dakota.

3. In Italy and Hungary, there’s a tradition of eating lentils on New Year’s Eve, to symbolize hope for a prosperous new year, most likely because of their round, coin-like form.

Nerdy health note: The Kitchen Goddess was shocked – SHOCKED! – to learn that most beans (except soybeans), are an incomplete protein, which means they don’t supply the full quota of amino acids the body needs to make use of protein. One way to complete the package is to include a grain with your legumes. Think peanut butter with toast. Or rice with beans. Who knew? So you could throw some rice into your lentil soup, but the KG thinks a way better idea is to serve your yummy red lentil soup with cornbread in order to produce a serving of complete proteins. You’ll find my favorite cornbread recipe here (click on link). The KG always has your best interests at heart.

Red Lentil Soup

Adapted from Melissa Clark in The New York Times and Andrea Geary at Cook's Illustrated.
Serves 4-5.


INGREDIENTS

4 tablespoons butter, separated
1 large onion, diced
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
¾ teaspoon ground coriander
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
⅛ teaspoon cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon Aleppo pepper, or a pinch of cayenne pepper
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 quart chicken or vegetable broth
2 cups water
10½ ounces (1½ cups) red lentils, picked over and rinsed
2 large carrots, peeled and cut in ¼-inch dice
Juice of 1 medium lemon (about 2-2½ tablespoons), plus more to taste
Garnish:
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
½ teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon Aleppo pepper

PREPARATION

In a large soup pot (I used a 5½-quart Le Creuset Dutch oven), heat 2 tablespoons of the butter. Add the onion and salt and sauté until softened, about 4-5 minutes.

Stir in the garlic, cumin, coriander, ginger, cinnamon, and the peppers, and sauté, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the tomato paste and continue to stir for another minute.

Add the broth, water, lentils, and diced carrot. Bring to a simmer, then partially cover the pot and reduce the heat to simmer the lentils until they’re soft and about half have broken down, about 20 minutes.

Remove 3 cups of the soup to a blender or food processor and purée the mixture, then add it back to the pot. Stir in the lemon juice and season to taste with additional salt or lemon juice. Reheat the soup if necessary.

In a small skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, and stir in the paprika and Aleppo pepper (or a dash of cayenne). Serve bowls of the soup drizzled with the spiced butter and a sprinkling of cilantro.

And in case you’ve forgotten (or didn’t want to follow the link), I recommend serving this soup with some of your favorite cornbread. Here’s mine:

Texas Cornbread

1¼ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cups yellow corn meal
3 tablespoons sugar
4½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
⅔ c milk (room temperature works best)
⅓ c melted butter
1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels

Heat oven to 425º.

In a medium-sized bowl, sift together the dry ingredients – flour, corn meal, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a separate, small bowl, beat the egg well with a fork, then stir in the milk and melted butter. Pour the liquid mixture all at once into the dry, stirring with a fork only until the flour is thoroughly moistened. (It’s okay if the mixture is lumpy – just don’t overstir.) Stir in the corn kernels just until evenly distributed.

Pour the mixture into an 8-inch cast-iron skillet or a greased 8x8-inch baking pan and bake 25-30 minutes until the top is browned and a toothpick stuck into the center comes out clean.