Curried Red Lentil Soup

Promises. Promises. We all make them and we all break them. One of the promises that the sous chef and I made to each other when embarking on this new journey of ours (resigning from my job, selling the house, packing up all the animals and heading East) was that we were going to get healthy physically and mentally. The fresh sea air and beautiful scenery has helped with the mental aspect (as has quitting my job!) but what about the physical aspect? Hmmmmm. Not so much. We promised that we were going to get up early and take the dog on long walks. Twice a daily. We were going to start running again. We were going to give up alcohol (or at least significantly reduce our intake....so not good for our health or our bank account.) We were going to eat healthy. We've been eating far far too well. We are still living with my sister and her husband, waiting on a well to be dug at our new property. Feeling like our life is still in limbo as we are in between homes. Thank god for my sister and her husband. We would not have been able to do this without them. We've been sharing the task of making meals and sitting down together at night for our feasts.  Which is quite lovely. My brother in law makes the most AMAZING fried fish and chips. Better than any restaurant. My sister bakes fresh loaves of sourdough bread weekly. Decadent nachos. Steaks that melt in your mouth.  We are all damn fine cooks. Not a bad problem to have. But the sous chef and I are fat. And not just a little fat like an extra 5 lbs fat. I can't zip up my winter jacket....which is not ideal when you live in Cape Breton...or anywhere in Canada for that matter. We are not doing so well on the exercise part either. At all. We both used to run half marathons. Now we can hardly walk up a hill without being totally out of breath.  A bit of a problem. Especially since we are currently living in a walk-out basement apartment and have to walk up a hill on a daily basis. 

So what are we going to do about it? Baby steps. We are going on A Lentil and Bean Bonanza. First up was this delicious and very flavourful Curried Red Lentil Soup. What makes it over the top in my books is the roasted spiced cashews and pepita topping. So easy to whip them up as you are waiting for the veggies and lentils to cook. Adds a nice crunch to your meal. I highly recommend taking this extra step to make your meal over the top yummy. The lentils take about 20 minutes to cook  (we like our veggies a little bit on the crispier side so you'll need to adjust your cooking time according to your taste.) The coconut milk helps make this a creamy rich dish. One bowl full with leave you feeling warm and satiated. It's definitely another meal that we will add to our dinner rotation. Next up my most favourite Lentil and Sweet Potato Chili  which we enjoyed tonight. Baby steps.

What else are we going to do? We are going to take the dog on walks daily. Long walks. Well, maybe 30 minutes to start. We don't want to overdue it all at once you know.  We will get there. Slowly but surely. Emphasis on the slowly because we're so out of shape. And if we fail one day, we'll just get up and try again the next day.  We shall get there. On that note...we are off to walk the dog. One step at a time.

Cheers from Bistro 164.

Curried Red Lentil Soup

adapted from www.delish.com

 

Soup Ingredients

3 tbsps olive oil

1 onion, diced

Minced fresh ginger, about 1 tbsp

6 cloves of garlic, smashed

2 large carrots, peeled and diced

1 large potato, diced

3 cups of kale, torn in to bite size

3 tbsp curry powder

freshly ground salt and pepper

2 cups of red lentils, rinsed well

1 can of coconut milk

4 cups of water or chicken broth

Ingredients for the Spiced Cashews

1 tbsp olive oil

3/4 cup cashews

1/4 cup pepitas

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp nigella seeds

freshly ground salt and pepper

Grab a large pot, heat to medium. Add in the olive oil, then onion, ginger, and garlic. Cook until the onions are soft. Add in the carrots, potatoes, kale, curry powder, salt and pepper. Stir frequently until the kale wilts, about 3-4 minutes.

Add in the lentils, coconut milk and water. Bring to a boil and then simmer for about 20 minutes, until the veggies are cooked and the lentils are creamy.

To make the spiced cashews: Heat a skillet over medium-low heat. Add in the oil, cashews, pipits and toast. Stir constantly until the cashews are golden brown. Add in the spices and stir until fragrant, another couple of minutes. 

Garnish the soup with the spiced nuts before serving.