The snow we received today sort of put a kink in our walking schedule today. Zeus’ tummy is so close to the ground, his Burberry coat was scooping up the snow; it was like walking a miniature snow plow! We left a rather strange looking path behind us.
My oven is on the blink, sort of, anyway. All of that electronic stuff offers so many opportunities for things to break, give out, just plain quit. I have turned the breaker off to my kitchen, then will turn it back on later tonight. You know, everything is a computer now, even my oven! Hopefully when I flip the breaker back on, the computer behind the controls will reboot itself and I will have an oven again. In the meantime, it looks like my electric soup pot will be put to work.
I have a package of French Lentils and a pound of Jasper’s wonderful sweet Italian Sausage, so I think I will make a French/Italian Lentil and Sausage Soup.
Sausage and Lentil Soup
• 1 medium onion
• ½ cup chopped celery
• 3 garlic cloves
• 8 baby carrots
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 lb Italian sausage, removed from casings
• 5 cups chicken broth
• 3 cups water
• 16 ounces lentils
• salt and pepper
• 1 dash red pepper flakes
olive oil for drizzling
Place onion, celery, garlic and carrots in food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Sauté the veggies in 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Remove sausage from casings and crumble. Add sausage to vegetables and sauté until no longer pink. Rinse lentils and add to pot. Add broth, water and seasonings and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 1 hour, stirring often. If soup becomes too thick, add more broth. Taste and adjust seasonings with salt and pepper. When done, drizzle with olive oil, stir and serve.
Just go to http://www.foodandwine.com/the-peoples-pastry-central and vote for Danica today! I will keep you posted on how she is doing.
Please have a wonderful Valentine's Day!
