Two or three times a week I whip up this, so-easy soup that is full of nutrition, and James likes it too!
Carrot Lentil Soup
1 large or two small carrots, peeled and grated
1 celery stick, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
2 tbspn. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup lentils
1 tspn. each turmeric and curry powder
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
salt and pepper, to taste
Brown onion in olive oil until softened, add celery, carrots, lentils, turmeric and curry powder. Stir until coated with oil and cook 5 minutes. Add stock and adjust seasoning. Cook for 40 mins. or until all vegetables are tender and lentils are cooked.
I just treated myself to a delicious small salad while my leftover roast chicken and veggies is heating up. The salad is so easy - half a leftover, overripe avocado, in chunks, small cubes of cucumber and half a dozen small shrimp, which I took from the freezer twenty minutes ago and chopped into three pieces each, all on a bed of lettuce. The dressing was easy too - some lemon juice, a squirt of mustard and balsamic vinegar, and the oil that the sundried tomatoes were stored in, whisked together. You could use EVO oil. Then toss everything in a bowl (I used the bowl I mixed the dressing in). Try to keep everything roughly the same size for a nice presentation. Oh, and I added some goat cheese because the very ripe avocado and the goat cheese had much the same texture. Delicious!
A dreary drizzly day. James is sick so I have the day to myself. Hopped on my bike between rain showers to get my tax return in the mail. Put up a poster at the tennis courts regarding the Thursday social (weather permitting!) and had a guy in to paint the upstairs landing which was peeling badly - it now looks great and there is a ton of paint left for me to freshen up the rest of the door trims and woodwork around the house. Much accomplished!!
I am reading a great detective mystery at the moment and can barely put it down. It's "A Question of Identity" by Susan Hill. I had to return "Cloud Atlas" unfinished for the second time as it was due back. I'm barely a third of the way through it but want to read it before I buy the movie. It was so hard to follow that I'm hoping reading the book will help clarify some of the confusions I had.
Monday dance group tonight and, I guess, more discussion about whether to postpone or continue with the Christmas Dance. I have changed my opinion, based on last week's discussion, as I feel if we postpone it this year, it will never happen, then we would lose the deposit. Better to hold it and suffer a small loss than be out $500. I will try to bring others round to my side!
My forsythia has been taking its own sweet time to bloom but, finally, the blossoms started to open yesterday. I had brought in a few canes last week to force indoors but now they are all at the same stage, thanks to our recent warmer days. By next week it will be a brilliant yellow. It is sad that the blossoms last only a few days and then the bush reverts to green for the remainder of the year. One year I pruned it quite heavily in the Fall (it does tend to get rather straggly) and the next Spring had no blossoms at all!
Dancing last night and attended the AGM of the RSCDS at the intermission. Great dances that we all enjoyed but a smaller than usual crowd - didn't quite make it to 100. There was a reception beforehand for the volunteers and coordinators of the various committees to which I was invited. Wine and cheese, vegetable and fruit platters were served. This is the last monthly dance until the Fall but we do still have a couple of other events - the West End Ball in May and the White Heather Ball in June. After that I will take a break from dancing and concentrate on golf and tennis!
Trying to stay ahead of food before it expires is a constant problem in my small household. The other day I needed to use up several ingredients that were left over from my latest cooking attempt. This resulted in a fairly successful new recipe of my own invention. I did photograph the result but seem to have deleted it prematurely. Nevertheless, here's the recipe, as far as I can remember it. It was one of those concoctions where you keep adding different flavours and can't quite recall exactly what went in!
Fish Pie (for want of a better name)
1 basa or other firm fleshed fish fillett
12 small or 6 large shrimp
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cremini mushrooms, chopped
1/2 cup green peas
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 can coconut milk, thinned to pouring consistency with milk
1tbspn. tomato paste
1 tsp each curry powder and garam masala
1/4 tsp. salt and pepper
1 tsp. corn starch
2 cups potatoes, cubed (I used small red potatoes, skins left on)
1 tspn. crushed garlic
4 oz. goat cheese
Milk as required for mashed potatoes
Saute onions and mushrooms in olive oil until soft. Add coconut milk, tomato paste, curry powder, garam masala, salt and pepper. Stir well until bubbling, then reduce heat to simmer. Chop fish into chunks and add to pan. Cook until fish becomes opaque, about 5 minutes. Create a slurry with the corn starch and a couple of tspns. water, add to sauce and stir until sauce thickens. Add shrimp and cook another 5 minutes. Add peas and cook another 2 minutes. Transfer to a deep casserole.
Cook potatoes in salted water until tender, drain and dry off on warm burner. Mash and beat in garlic, goat cheese and a little milk to make a smooth consistency. Spoon on top of fish and smooth to cover, then create some peaks for browning. Dot with butter. Place under broiler until slightly browned.
