Cumin, Lentil and Carrot Soup

I got a really good deal on carrots, and had a ton to use up. I wanted to make a carrot soup, and found this Spiced Lentil and Carrot soup recipe to try. I made a few changes, and it was delicious. All three boys ate it right up!

To start with, I wanted to have leftovers, so I made the recipe bigger (not quite double). Here's my recipe:

Cumin, Lentil and Carrot Soup 

4 tsp cumin seeds
pinch of chilli flakes
~1 Tbs oil
1 med to large onion chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
~ 1 Kg carrots, washed and chopped or grated.
270 g red split lentils
~2 liters water or vegetable stock
squeeze of lemon juice
salt to taste

1.  Heat a large saucepan/small stockpot and dry fry the cumin seeds and chilli flakes for about 1 minute, or until they start to jump around the pan and release their aromas. Remove the seeds and set aside. Heat the oil in the pot, and then saute the onion and then garlic, until soft and golden brown (about 5 minutes). Add the carrots and continue to sweat the vegetables until the carrots are beginning to get soft. Add the lentils, and cook for a minute stirring.

2. Add the water or stock and half of the toasted cumin seeds/chilli flakes, bring to the boil, then lower the heat to a simmer. Simmer for about 15-30 minutes, or until carrots and lentils are soft (it depends on how small the carrots are chopped/grated).

2. Remove from heat, and using an immersion blender, puree the soup. (You could blend it in batches in a regular blender as well.)  Season with salt and fresh lemon juice to taste.  Serve soup hot, garnished with the reserved cumin seeds.

Monday: Roast Chicken and Veg, and Carrot and Nettle Soup

I took the boys to the park today, and finally harvested some Nettle that grows along the creek near the playground. Stinging Nettle grows everywhere in England. Although it's something you want don't want touching your bare skin, once cooked, it's apparently quite delicious and very nutritious. It loses it's stinging quality once cooked. It's similar to spinach, but with a peppery kick.

So with gloves, scissors and a bag in tow, I trimmed the tops off of several nettle plants. I discovered that the cheap disposable plastic gloves are not strong/thick enough for this job (but at least I knew I was picking the right thing). Next time I'll bring my rubber washing up gloves.

Since I had the nettle, I decided to make a soup to go along with the roast chicken I had planned for tonight. (I bought a whole chicken at Tesco for £1.59!) Even though I don't write out a weekly menu for the week, sometimes I am organized enough to plan ahead, especially when I have leftover food I need to use up. I had a ton of rice leftover from dinner last night, and knew I would have leftover chicken from tonight. So I plan on making burrito/enchiladas later this week using those two ingredients. Because I wanted some Mexican type flavours for the burritos, I decided to go that route with the roast chicken as well.

Verdict: The soup was actually really good. My two-year old ate it right up. Although a bit wary at first, Paul really enjoyed it too. My three year-old took one look at it and declared he didn't like green soup. I made him try a couple of spoonfuls, and he still declared he didn't like it. The chicken turned out great, and the oven chips were good as usual.

Carrot, Nettle and Coriander Soup

1 medium onion, chopped

2 large carrots, peeled and diced

Bunch of Nettle leaves, about 1 cup packed (handle with gloves!)

~1 Tbs dried coriander leaves (cilantro leaves)

Vegetable stock or water

salt and pepper to taste

Sweat the onion and carrot in a bit of Oil until soft. Add the nettle leaves and cook until wilted. Add the coriander, seasoning and enough stock or water to cover the vegetables. Bring to boil and simmer for about 10 minutes. Let cool, and puree the soup until smooth. Season to taste.

Roast Chicken with a spice butter rub

In a frying pan, (I used the saucepan I was going to use for the soup), dry roast about 1 Tbs Cumin seeds, 1-2 tsp Coriander seeds, and a dash of hot pepper flakes, on medium heat for a couple minutes, until you can smell the spices well. Remove from pan, and using a mortar and pestle or spice grinder, grind the mixture into a powder. Add salt and pepper to taste, and some chopped fresh Coriander/cilantro leaves. Add to some softened butter (~1-2 Tbs), along with a squeeze of lime juice), and mix.

Using your finger separate the skin from the flesh of the breast on a whole roasting chicken. place about half the butter rub under the skin of the breast, and using your hand, push the butter to the end of the breast, and evenly spread it around. Do the same with the other breast. If desired, you could make a slit in the skin of the drumsticks and rub some butter under that skin as well. Season the cavity with a salt, pepper, ground cumin and paprika rub, and place a couple small pieces of lime inside as well. Rub the outside of the chicken with oil, and season with the salt, pepper, ground cumin and paprika rub. (You could also just season with Salt and Pepper. Cover the breasts with foil. Place chicken in a roasting pan, on a rack if possible, and bake at 350*F for about an hour, removing the foil after 30 minutes. The temperature of the meat should reach 170*F. Let rest for at least 10 minutes.

I also made some oven fries and roasted carrot sticks to go along with the meal.

Yellow Split Pea Soup and Homesteader Cornbread

Today was a good day for cooking with my boys. I made oatmeal with apples and honey, that N said was "scrummy!" Then dinner went over well too. The boys helped me make the Homesteader cornbread, which is a recipe I found on all-recipes and is my favourite; it is so moist. Of course the boys LOVED the cornbread, but they also enjoyed the soup (and they aren't real big soup lovers). N said it was delicious, and very nice! I don't get that very often.

Yellow Split Pea Soup

2-3 cups dried yellow split peas, soaked overnight

1-2 Tbs Vegetable oil

2 onions, chopped

2 celery sticks, chopped

3-4 carrots, chopped

Large Handful Parsley leaves, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp dried marjoram (or to taste)

1 tsp dried thyme (or to taste)

Water or homemade stock

2 bay leaves

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat the oil in a large pot or stock pan on medium heat. Sauté the onion, celery and carrot for about 10 minutes until soft. Add the parsley and garlic, sauté for 1-2 minutes. Add the thyme, marjoram and bay leaves, sauté for 1 minute.

2. Drain and rinse the split peas and add to the pot. Add enough water or stock to cover the split pea mix by about two inches. Bring to a boil, cover, and lower the heat to a simmer. Cook for a couple of hours or until lentils are soft, adding more water if necessary.

3. When peas are soft, remove pot from heat, and let cool slightly. Remove bay leaves. If desired, you can use an immersion blender to blend some, but not all of the soup. You could also take a couple of cups from the pot and blend in a blender until smooth, then return to the pot and stir until thoroughly mixed. Season with salt and pepper.

Jamaican Veggie Patties and Pumpkin Ginger Soup

The time just before dinner at my house can be a crazy time. The boys are getting tired and hungry, and therefore need more attention from me. This comes just at the time I need to prepare dinner. It's really difficult for me to cook when I have a wee little one clinging to my leg, or insisting that I hold him so he can stir the hot food! So, I try to get as much done during the day. If I'm lucky enough for my boys to take long naps, I can actually have a good amount of time to prepare. Today was one of those days, and I decided to try a new recipe I found on 101 Cookbooks that was a bit more time consuming than most of my meals.

My boys love getting Vegetable Pasties from the bakeries here in England, and these Jamaican Veggie Patties looked like something they would enjoy, and they make a perfect pack lunch too. Although the patties can take quite a while you can prepare most of it ahead of time. I made the dough and the filling while my little one was sleeping, and then they helped me roll out the crust and cut the circles out for the patties. They had a lot of fun playing with the dough, and I kept my sanity while finishing up dinner. The Veg patties are supposed to be vegan, but since I didn't have any coconut oil, I just used butter instead, and they turned out fine. I also used a 4 1/2" round cookie cutter to get smaller patties, perfect size for little hands. My boys ate them right up, and my husband said they were even good enough to buy. I think I'll try whipping up a double or triple batch this weekend and freezing them for future lunches or a quick meal.

I also threw together a soup using one of the Halloween pumpkins I had. Most people think they're just for carving, but you get a lot of good squash from one of those. I cut the pumpkin into smaller pieces and placed in a 9x13" pan with enough water to cover the bottom of the pan. I roasted the pumpkin at about 350 *F for about 30 minutes or until the pumpkin is cooked through and very soft. Once it's cooled you can scoop out the flesh and use it for all kinds of yummy things. Tonight I made a pumpkin ginger soup. Maybe next I'll try a pumpkin pie or a cheesecake. Yum!

I didn't add any cream or milk to my soup this time, and I thought it was still very good. Not only does the cream/milk make the soup more creamy though, it also helps to cut the acidity from the apples. I also roasted the pumpkin seeds from the pumpkin with a bit of oil and salt. They make a great garnish for this soup.

Pumpkin Ginger Soup

2 Tbs veg oil/butter

1 onion, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

2 medium apples, peeled, cored and chopped

1" piece of fresh ginger, grated

1/2-1 cup apple juice

1-2 cups water or chicken stock

2 cups roasted pumpkin

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg, or to taste

cream or milk (optional)

salt and pepper

roasted pumpkin seeds to garnish

1. Heat the oil or medium heat, and sauté the onion and carrot for about 5 minutes. Add the apple and sauté for another 3-5 minutes. Add the ginger and sauté for another minute, then add the apple juice, cover, and simmer for about 5-10 minutes, until veg is very soft.

2. Add the pumpkin and 1 cup of water/stock and simmer for another 10-15 minutes.

3. Remove soup from heat, and blend the soup using an immersion blender, or in batches in a regular blender. You may need to add more water/stock to adjust the consistency. If you are using cream, leave the purée a little thicker than you want the soup, then mix in the cream to a desired consistency. Add the nutmeg and seasoning to taste. Slowly reheat the soup if necessary. Serve garnished with roasted pumpkin seeds.

Red Lentil, Sweet Potato and Carrot Soup

This soup is very simple to make, but very tasty. You can serve it as a starter, but is substantial enough for a main course served with warm pita bread and a side salad. It may also benefit from some garlic croutons or something crunchy to contrast with the smooth texture of the soup.

1 bulb of garlic
1 large onion, chopped
3 large carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
1 stalk of celery, chopped
2 cups red lentils
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled
2 bay leaves
1 sprig of fresh thyme
2 tsp ground cumin (or more to taste)
1 tsp ground coriander (or more to taste)
1 14 ounce can tomatoes

Wrap the bulb of garlic in foil and roast in a 350 F oven for about 20-30 minutes until garlic is soft. Cut the bottom off, and squeeze the garlic out.

Add all ingredients above in a large pot and cover with water until it's 2 to 3 inches above the vegetables. Bring to a gentle boil, reduce heat and simmer for at least 30 minutes. Carrots should be soft enough that they can be mashed against the side of the pot with a fork. Remove from heat, and remove ginger, thyme sprig and bay leaves from the soup. Let the soup cool for about 10 minutes.

Using a hand blender, puree the soup directly in the pot until it is a smooth consistency. (You could also blend in a blender in small batches.) If it is too thick, you can add more water. Add juice of 1/2 lemon and salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.


juice of 1/2 lemon
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste