Winter decided to say hello a little early this morning. I am not ready to welcome the chilly mornings and bitter evenings. But I am ready to welcome winter’s bounty of seasonal eating. I am back to creating delicious soups and stews to keep the winter chill at bay and my body nice, cozy and comforted.

I am in the process of a big life change right now so please bear with me as I take my time writing posts and sharing recipes with all of you. I promise it’s all great news, so please stay tuned.

To keep me grounded, secure, and warm I absolutely love lentil soup. Let’s break free from the boring lentil soup of yesteryear and jazz it up with my two versions that are sure crowd pleasers AND good at any time! The best part? Make a larger batch of these soups on a Sunday night and eat for a few days! And the soup only gets better with time.

Cozy on up with a bowl of my herby lentil soup and lentil, kale and tomato soup.

Herbaceous Lentil Soup: 

What You Need: 

• 1 bag dry lentils (12 oz)
• 2 shallots, diced
• 4 ribs of celery, diced
• 2 large carrots, diced (or shredded carrots, 1 cup)
• 6 gloves of garlic, smashed and minced
• 1 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme, leaves removed from stem
• 1 32 fl ounce can/box (or 4 cups) of vegetable stock
• 3 bay leaves
• Sea salt, black pepper to taste

How You Make It: 

1. Wash lentils thoroughly then cover with water (about 4-5 cups) in a small pot and bring to a boil. Once lentils are boiled, rinse once more and place in a larger (soup pot) pot filled with water (4-5 cups again).

2. In a saute pan, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and saute shallots, garlic, celery and carrots and half the rosemary and thyme until translucent. Once fragrant and slightly translucent, toss into pot with lentils. Season with sea salt and pepper.

3. Stir to coat lentils completely. Add bay leaves and add stock.

4. Cook on medium low heat until most of the liquid is absorbed and lentils become soft. This takes about 20 minutes.

5. Turn heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Toss in rest of the herbs and season with sea salt and black pepper as desired.

6. Serve with warm, fresh garlic bread (sourdough is fabulous) or croutons for crunch (my pumpernickel croutons work wonderfully here.)

Lentil, Tomato and Kale Soup/Stew

What You Need: 

• 1 tsp coconut oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 red onion, diced
• 3 celery stalks, diced
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 & 1/4 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1/4-1/2 tsp paprika
• 14-oz can diced organic tomatoes
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 2 cups lentils, rinsed and drained
• sea salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 bag Tuscan kale (or any dark kale) NOTE: You can get this from Trader Joes

How You Make It: 

1. Wash lentils thoroughly then cover with water (about 4-5 cups) in a small pot and bring to a boil. Once lentils are boiled, rinse once more and place in a larger (soup pot) pot filled with water (4-5 cups again).

2. In a small pan, saute coconut oil, garlic, onion and celery.  Once fragrant and slightly translucent, toss into pot with lentils. Season with sea salt and pepper.

3. Stir to coat lentils completely. Add bay leaves, tomatoes and stock.

4. Cook on medium low heat until most of the liquid is absorbed and lentils become soft. This takes about 20 minutes.

5. Turn heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. 5 minutes before serving stir in kale and let sit.

6. Garnish with cilantro and serve!

Now head on over to the kitchen and whip this up for dinner and eat for days!

Peace, love AND no beef!
Guramrit