MIDDLE-EASTERN SPICED SQUASH + BEAN STEW

The news has me a bit emotional lately so all I have to give right now is a warm pot of soup. I have always been empathetic and emotional but being a mother has made me even more so. I can't help but hear stories about the shooting in Oregon or the refugees and personalize them. My family is not entitled to any sort of safety or protection, as cautious as I try to be, and that scares me to death. All I desire is for my people to be safe and healthy and happy; I'm sure that is what any parent hopes for; and when the story goes otherwise, it reminds you that you must hold onto things loosely. These sort of tragedies happen in an instant and my heart hurts for how fragile this life is.

It was fall around here for about two days. A little rain, I put on slippers, bought squash and made banana bread and soup. It's going to be 90' again by the weekend but I can feel the chill creeping in. It's coming and I am ready. So today, it's a simple and spiced bowl of soup for the comfort that food can give when there's not much else you can do. 

MIDDLE EASTERN-SPICED SQUASH + BEAN STEW // Serves 6

Adapted from A Change of Appetite by Diana Henry

I changed a couple things here and only because I don't like to dirty a dish unless it's absolutely necessary. Diana recommends browning the squash before you put them into the stew to get a golden crust. I find that to be lost when it gets cooked further in a liquid so decided to skip that step. Mind you, I haven't tried it otherwise and surely she has good reason so brown that squash if you're up for it!

Chiles vary widely in heat level depending where you buy them so this is tough to predict. I removed all of the seeds from my chiles so got next to no heat in my finished soup as I knew I'd be sharing it with a toddler. Personal taste, I would leave a few in so do so if you want some spice. 

2 tablespoons coconut oil, divided
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 large carrot, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 red chiles, seeded and chopped
5 roma tomatoes, chopped
1 Tbsp. ground cumin
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 medium sized butternut squash, peeled and cubed (about 3 cups)
3 cups vegetable stock
salt and pepper
1 3/4 cups (1 14 oz. can) cooked garbanzo or cannellini beans
juice and zest of one lemon
whole milk yogurt, for garnish
fresh mint, for garnish
toasted sesame or nigella seeds, for garnish
cooked brown rice (and lentils if you wish) for serving

In a large dutch oven over medium heat, warm the coconut oil. Add the onions, carrots and a pinch of salt and saute until slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic, chiles and tomatoes and cook another five minutes. Stir in the cumin, tomato paste and a few pinches of salt and pepper.

Add the squash and the broth and stir to mix. Turn the heat to low, cover, and cook for about 30-40 minutes until the squash is softened. Add in the cooked beans (rinsed and drained if using canned) and simmer, uncovered, another 10 minutes to warm through. This should be thick and stew like. Add the lemon zest and juice and taste for seasonings. 

Serve your bowls with a scoop of rice (or rice and lentils), the stew, a dollop of yogurt, mint and seeds. I liked a 2:1 ratio of stew to rice and generous with the toppings. Always :)

CURRIED YELLOW SPLIT PEA SOUP

Curried Yellow Split Pea Soup . Sprouted Kitchen

"You'll need coffee shops and sunsets and roadtrips. Airplanes and passports and new songs and old songs, but eople more than anything else. You will need other people and you will need to be that other person to someone else - a living, breathing, screaming invitation to believe better things." - jamie tworkowski

Curried Yellow Split Pea Soup . Sprouted Kitchen

Curried Yellow Split Pea Soup . Sprouted Kitchen

CURRIED YELLOW SPLIT PEA SOUP // Serves 4-6

I bake up an extra sweet potato and scoop out the flesh to thicken up the soup. I find it deepens the flavor to not taste so legume-y. Perhaps a personal preference. You could use pumpkin puree or even cooked carrots if you have them on hand. Add more ginger or a sprinkle of cayenne if you'd like some heat. The soup will keep for a week but will thicken up in the fridge, so simply reheat with a touch more liquid.

I wish we'd had some naan on hand. Soup + naan. That would make for a wonderful dinner.

• 2 Tbsp. ghee or unsalted butter
• 1 small red onion, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 1 tsp. each sea salt and pepper
• 2 Tbsp. fresh grated ginger
• 1 tsp. turmeric
• 2 tsp. cumin
• 2 tsp. curry powder
• 3/4 cup roasted sweet potato
• 12 ounces dry yellow split peas, rinsed and drained
• 6 cups vegetable or chicken broth
• 1 cup coconut milk, remaining for garnish
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• chopped cilantro, black sesame, micogreens for garnish

Curried Yellow Split Pea Soup . Sprouted Kitchen

In a large pot or dutch oven, warm the ghee or butter over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, salt and pepper and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the ginger, turmeric, cumin, curry, sweet potato flesh, yellow split peas and broth. Stir and bring the mixture up to a boil, down to a gentle simmer, cover and cook for 45-55 minutes until the peas are very soft. With an immersion blender or in batches in a regular blender, puree until mostly smooth. I like mine a little chunky. Return to the pot. 

Stir in the coconut milk, orange juice and taste for seasoning. Add cayenne or more ginger if you'd like it spicy. Serve each bowl with dollop of coconut milk on top, cilantro, black sesame and microgreens for garnish. 

This post is sponsored by the U.S. Dry Pea and Lentil Council. 

Curried Yellow Split Pea Soup . Sprouted Kitchen

SPICED LENTIL SOUP WITH COCONUT MILK

It is not fall in my pocket of the world. Summer is still lingering with warm ocean water, people in shorts and tank dresses and tomatoes at the farm stand. Sure there are pumpkins at the market and the sun sets earlier but those are the only telling signs the season is changing. The weather makes me crave salad and fruit, but a big pot of soup intrigued me for some emotional reason. I feel a bit drained lately, and there is something about soup that is comforting. Just a bowl and spoon. No stabbing bits of lettuce or cutting with a knife. Just simple eating. The kitchen is a place of solace for me - a place to be creative, to give, to appreciate small things, to refresh or to be pointed towards something in myself that I haven't taken the time to recognize. And in this case, that awareness came from wanting to make a pot of warm soup on a 97' day. I knew when I saw this soup on The Travelers Lunchbox that I would make it and like it. At first taste, it seemed all the spices didn't marry, but after a bit of sitting in its own goodness, my mouth was filled with warmth, spice, a bit of heat and lentils just tender to the tooth. I garnished it with some toasted coconut because I'm a sucker for a nice garnish, but this is certainly optional. The recipe makes a good portion of soup, which is not inconvenient because it is actually better the next day. So, maybe you're wearing a sweater or maybe you're still in shorts, but soup is never a bad idea.

SPICED LENTIL SOUP WITH COCONUT MILK // Serves 6

Recipe adapted from The Travelers Lunchbox who adapted it from Once Upon a Tart

The recipe calls for green lentils. I used a mixture because I have a large amount of them and they worked just fine. Split or red lentils will likely get too mushy here. I used 4 cups broth because I like my soups on the stewy side, if you prefer more broth to you soup, add another cup or two when cooking the lentils.

1 1/2 cup lentils, rinsed (green suggested)

4 cups low sodium vegetable broth

1 1/2 tsp. tumeric OR curry powder

2 tsp. dried thyme or 1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves

1 Tbsp. coconut oil

1 large yellow onion, diced

2 stalks lemongrass, outer layer removed, lower portion finely minced

1 tsp. sea salt, plus more to taste

1/2 tsp. cardamom

1/2 tsp. cinnamon pinch of red pepper flakes to taste

pinch of fresh grated nutmeg

1 1/4 cup coconut milk (use full fat, just believe me)

3 Tbsp. lemon, lime or orange juice

a few handfuls of swiss chard, spinach or kale

1 cup flake coconut, toasted (optional)

chopped cilantro, for garnish (optional)

Add the rinsed lentils, broth, thyme and tumeric or curry powder to a large pot. Bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes.

While the lentils cook, heat the coconut oil in a pan. Add the onion and saute until just browned. Add the lemongrass, salt, cardamom, cinnamon, pinch of red pepper flakes and some fresh ground nutmeg and saute another minute. Add the onion mixture to the lentils and stir, keeping the heat on a low simmer.

Add the coconut milk and greens and simmer another five minutes, stirring occasionally until just wilted. Taste for salt and spice and add as you prefer. Finish with the citrus juice and serve warm with toasted coconut flakes and cilantro on top.