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Spiced Lentil and Butternut Squash Soup

I’ve been on a bit of a soup bender lately, kids.  It’s the weather.  This fall has been cooler, greyer, and rainier than it usually is in D.C., and I find myself dreaming of homemade soups to take away the chill.  I came up with this one while watching the rain pour down outside my office window one afternoon a couple of weeks ago and let me tell you, it’s a keeper.  Packed with protein and fiber from the lentils, vitamins from the butternut squash, and heady flavors from a complement of Indian spices, it’s just the thing to warm you through and perk you up when the thermostat drops and the clouds roll in.

Spiced Lentil and Butternut Squash Soup

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 large white onion, diced
1 tablespoon Indian curry powder (plus additional to taste)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch nutmeg
1 small-medium butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1 cup red lentils
4 cups vegetable broth
1 cup water

  • In cast-iron Dutch oven over medium heat, warm olive oil until shimmering.  Add diced onion and cook until translucent.
  • Add spices and toss to coat onion pieces.  Cook until spices become fragrant.
  • Add butternut squash and lentils and toss to coat thoroughly with onion and spices.
  • Add vegetable broth and water and stir thoroughly.  Using a spatula, scrape browned bits from bottom of pot and stir to incorporate.  Bring mixture to a boil.
  • Reduce heat to medium and cook 30 minutes, or until squash and lentils are softened.  Working in batches, transfer to a high-speed blender and blend until smooth and velvety.  (Or use a stick blender, if yours isn’t dead like mine.  Boo.)  Return soup to pot and adjust seasonings to taste.  Keep warm over low heat until ready to serve.

Nota Baker: You can keep this soup in the fridge, but it will probably solidify.  It’s no big deal – just loosen it up with a few splashes of water while you reheat it over the stove, and stir vigorously to make sure the newly added water blends in.

Source: Covered In Flour

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They’re Called Classics For A Reason

Have you ever curled up with Pride and Prejudice and swooned over Mr. Darcy, with his smouldering, passionate declaration of love for Lizzy Bennet?  Have you jumped at the smallest noise after reading Wuthering Heights’ terrifying description of the ghostly Cathy knocking at the window?  Laughed like a Florentine noble at the bawdiest tales in Bocaccio’s Decameron?  Or kept a sad vigil with Natasha at Prince Andrei’s bedside in War and Peace?  No?  Then you’re missing out.

But they’re boring, you insist.  I had to read that in tenth grade.  It was awwwwwwwful.  Barely even readable.  Too many people have had their reading experiences ruined by a stern teacher or a rigid curriculum.  And it’s true that no one likes a book that they’re forced to read.  But I’ll bet if you dust off one of the “classics” and approach it with fresh eyes, you’ll find a whole world there, full of romance, joy, sadness, adventure, desperation, fright… a whole range of human emotions.

There are many different definitions for what makes a book a classic.  No one definition is controlling, but most generally agree that to be considered a classic, a book has to have attained critical and popular success for a substantial period of time.  (Liz Foley, Vintage Classics Editorial Director, has a good commentary on the topic over on the Man Booker Prize website.)  Let’s think about that for a moment.  Ask yourself this – can a book really attain critical and popular success, and sustain it for decades, even centuries, if it’s boring?  I guess anything’s possible, but it doesn’t seem terribly likely to me.  Classics are books with staying power… and they have staying power because they speak to people.

I’d be lying if I said I liked every classic.  The Scarlet Letter did nothing for me, nor did The Secret Agent.  But when I pick up a classic novel, I don’t expect it to be dry and boring and dull.  I expect to enjoy it immensely – like so many people who’ve read them before me.  I expect to be swept into new worlds of romance, adventure, excitement, and fun.  I expect to identify with the characters, to laugh with them, and to be moved to tears by their stories.  Most of the time, the classics that I read fulfill those expectations.

And it’s not just that.  Reading classic works enriches my daily life and my travels.  When I watched the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace in 2008, I was thinking about Christopher Robin.  Seeing Place Saint-Michel in Paris brought to mind barricades, street fighting and Les Miserables.  Traveling through England this fall, I’ll be thinking of the second Mrs. de Winter shivering near the cliffs and coves of Cornwall… of Tess Durbeyfield stretched out across an ancient altar at Stonehenge… of Catherine Moreland navigating the Bath social scene…

I’m not saying that I don’t read magazines, or new releases, for that matter.  I like a glossy issue of Bon Appetit as much as the next girl.  And if I skipped the new releases I’d have missed out on The Night Circus, which was perhaps the best book I read all year.  But I’ll never abandon those piles of old favorites.  Jane Eyre is still thrilling and romantic.  War and Peace is epic, tragic and uplifting all at once.  Pride and Prejudice and Emma are pure, unadulterated fun.  Rebecca is suspenseful and mysterious.  The Decameron is hilarious, and kind of dirty (in parts).  Who would want to skip any of that?  If you haven’t picked up a “classic” novel in awhile, try again.  Give yourself the gift of reading the “great works” without a strict teacher breathing down your neck.  After all, they’re really, really good.  That’s why they’re classics.

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Tea Tasting: Japonica Tafe Pineapple Coconut Green

Japonica Tafe operates a regular booth at my local farmers market, and that’s where I got this lovely brew.  Pineapple Coconut Green tea is a flavorful blend of green tea with toasted coconut, orange peel and natural pineapple flavors.  When I bought this tea, I was just meandering through the market and asked to smell it – I love smelling teas – and they handed me the bag.  I said, “Thanks, but I really want to smell it first,” and was told, “You can smell it through the bag.”  And could I ever!  The delicious tropical, toasty flavor came through loud and clear, and I didn’t even need to open the bag to sniff it.  I bought it on the spot and spent the next hour with the still-unopened bag pressed against my face.  That’s how good it smells.

The Leaves… Simple rolled green tea leaves with shredded coconut and calendula for a sunshiny flash of visual appeal.

The Brew… It’s a dark golden cup with rich coconut aromas.  The pineapple aroma is in the background, but it’s there.  The taste is mild and tropical, but unmistakeably green.

The Experience… Great for sipping in the afternoon, it perks me up without making me too caffeine crazy.  But it’s a good tea to wake up to on a chilly Saturday morning, too.  One sip takes me to my own personal island paradise!

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Edinburgh


Edinburgh Castle

After the Highlands, we drove down south to Edinburgh.  Like the rest of Scotland, Edinburgh combined evocative old buildings, brilliant green grass, and friendly people. 


The new Scottish Parliament building – some controversial architecture, certainly, but hubby and I were happy for the Scottish people that they finally have their Parliament back!


The brooding Palace of Holyroodhouse, the royal family’s official residence in Scotland.  (No, it’s not Balmoral.)  We took the tour and enjoyed imagining the current royals wandering around the Palace and the grounds on one of their official trips to Scotland.


Haunting ruins of Holyrood Abbey.  I love meandering around these old structures and trying to picture how they appeared when they were new and in use.


City views.


I could have stayed forever.

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Fall Fruit Salad with Spiced Yogurt “Dressing”

I crave fruit all year.  Spring, summer, fall, winter.  But my cravings change depending on the season.  I know it’s fall when I walk by the pints of berries without a second thought and head straight for the new, shiny, beautiful Asian pears – my favorite autumn fruit.  When stone fruits are suddenly boring to me and the thought of apple-picking is a thrill.  Those days are here again, and I made this fruit salad to celebrate.

You could use any of your favorite fall fruits.  Apples would be lovely.  So would pears.  We always have bananas, so I used those, as well as one of my precious Asian pears.  (Despite my current goal to save money on groceries, I’m willing to spend the money on Asian pears because they’re a special treat for me and they’re only available in the fall.  But they are pricey, so I only bought a few.  Fortunately for me, hubby hates them.  So those few Asian pears are all mine.)  The key is the dressing – it’s truly an autumnal dressing.  It starts as plain Greek yogurt, but becomes a fall masterpiece with the additions of maple syrup and cinnamon.  Mmmmmm, cinnamon.  Excuse me while I lick the plate.  Happy October!

Fall Fruit Salad with Spiced Yogurt “Dressing”

1 Asian Pear or large apple, cut into 1-inch dice
1 banana, sliced lengthwise and diced
1/2 cup plain fat-free Greek yogurt (i.e. Oikos)
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
sliced almonds, for garnish

  • Cut up fruit and set aside in small bowl.  (The fruits above are just suggestions, but the proportion of one banana and one large apple or Asian pear is just about right for two small salads or one large salad.)
  • In a small mixing bowl, stir together yogurt, syrup, cinnamon and vanilla until well blended.
  • Portion salad onto two small plates (or one big plate!) and drizzle yogurt “dressing” over.  Garnish with a pinch of sliced almonds.
  • Resist the urge to lick the yogurt bowl and get yogurt all over your face.  Serve immediately.

Source: Covered In Flour

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Reading My Way Through England


The Tower of London.  Scary!

I’m an Anglophile.  Even before I went to Great Britain for the first time in 2008, I considered myself an Anglophile.  I’m not sure how others come to love a country before they’ve even stepped foot in it, but for me my Anglophile tendencies were awakened by certain special people.  Jane Austen and Will Shakespeare, to start.  Agatha Christie, Daphne du Maurier, Charlotte Bronte, and Thomas Hardy.  Then, when I already knew I loved Great Britain, Anne Bronte, P.G. Wodehouse, Dorothy L. Sayers and Charles Dickens confirmed it.  My introduction to England came between the pages of books.  And while I can read and love a book from anywhere in the world, my heart belongs to English literature.

When I travel, I like to take with me books that call to mind the particular place I’ll be exploring – either because they’re specifically set there or just because they’re reminiscent of the area.  In 2008 I was headed north – to Yorkshire, to start – so I brought Wuthering Heights with me.  This time I’m traveling with a Nook, which means that I have the luxury of “packing” as many English novels as my heart desires without worrying that my backpack’s zipper will break.  So, while hubby has been concerning himself with things like GPS coordinates and hiking socks, I’ve been brainstorming a book list that will cover every stop in our upcoming circuit of southern England.  (I probably won’t download all of these.  But it’s still fun to think about the characters that I’ve loved as I’m walking in their footsteps.)

Bath – For the first stop on our trip, I’ll be in full-on Jane Austen mode.  Austen lived in Bath periodically and the town currently houses the Jane Austen Centre.  Although Rick Steves only recommends it for “fans,” I’m a rabid Jane Austen fangirl and hubby is stuck to me, so we will certainly be visiting and paying homage to the giant Colin Firth poster.  Obviously.  So for a visit to Bath, the books of choice are clearly Jane Austen!  I’ll be taking Persuasion, and possibly Northanger Abbey, since Bath is a major setting in both books.

Stonehenge – On the way from Bath to our next stop, Cornwall, we’re planning to stop at Stonehenge.  When we do, I’ll be thinking of poor, mistreated Tess from Thomas Hardy’s tragic Tess of the d’Urbervilles, one of my high school favorites.  In the climactic scene, Tess stretches out across a Druid altar at Stonehenge and makes a terrible confession.

Cornwall – I’ve been wanting to visit Cornwall ever since I first read Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca.  It’s still a favorite, and I recommend it to everybody.  The brooding estate of Manderley, still haunted by the outsized personality of its late mistress, Rebecca de Winter, and the Cornish coast where she met her demise have called to me since I read the iconic first line, “Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.”  For more Cornwall, pick up any other du Maurier novel – I also love Rule Britannia and Jamaica Inn.  Or, if you want to be really ambitious, try Le Morte d’Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory.  (King Arthur is believed to be a Cornish king, and the castle of Tintagel – which we’ll be visiting – is considered by many as the seat of Camelot.)  But if you bring Malory along with you, don’t expect to read anything else!  900 pages of Ye Olde English is quite the commitment.

The Cotswolds – This is the quintessential storybook England, of thatched-roof cottages and rambling rose gardens.  While in the Cotswolds, I plan to treat myself to some of the quintessential English sense of humor… through P.G. Wodehouse.  Wodehouse wrote some 90+ novels, many of them focusing on two of my favorite literary characters of all time, the dopey aristrocrat Bertie Wooster and his devoted and brilliant valet, Jeeves.  Bertie often finds himself sent out of London to the country by various domineering aunts, for the purpose of proposing to wealthy young women whom he can’t stand, or stealing bits of china or silver from his unwitting hosts.  Bertie invariably ends up either engaged, on the run from the law (sometimes in the form of his old pal Stilton Cheesewright, sometimes the bumbling Constable Oates), or both.  But not to worry: Jeeves always gets him out of his scrapes.  Although the generic countryside of the Wooster and Jeeves novels isn’t identified as being the Cotswolds, with town names like Steeple Bumpleigh, Totleigh-in-the-Wold and Market Snodsbury, it can’t be anywhere else in my imagination.  My favorite Wodehouse novel is The Code of the Woosters, where Bertie is sent to pinch a cow-creamer from his Uncle Tom’s arch-nemesis, Sir Watkyn Bassett, and finds himself dodging the dippy daughter of the house, Lady Madeline, as well as Sir Watkyn’s aspiring dictator friend Roderick Spode.  Good stuff.

Stratford-Upon-Avon – While in the Cotswolds, we’re going to nip over to Stratford for a day-trip to see Shakespeare’s birthplace.  Yes, I know it’s touristy.  No, I don’t care.  I love everything Will has done (except for Titus, yuck).  I’ll be giddy all day, thinking about my favorite Shakespeare plays – Macbeth, Hamlet, The Taming of the Shrew and especially A Midsummer Night’s Dream.  In high school I participated in a Shakespeare competition and recited one of Helena’s monologues – good enough for second place, wheeee!  Later, for my sixteenth birthday, some friends got me tickets to see Midsummer on my birthday.  We sat on stage and I recited along with the actors.  Happy times.  So yeah, I’ll be excited to see Will’s pad!

Oxford – There’s plenty to choose from when it comes to Oxford lit.  You could try Mr Verdant Green: Adventures of an Oxford Freshman, which I picked up in London in 2008 when I ran out of books to read on the plane home.  Or you could go with A Discovery of Witches if you want something more recent and bestsellery.  But my favorite Oxford book has to be Gaudy Night, by Dorothy L. Sayers.  I love the Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries – especially the ones that include Lord Peter’s paramour, the mystery writer Harriet Vane, and Gaudy Night is almost all Harriet, as she visits her alma mater and helps solve the mystery of who is sending “poison pen” letters to the Oxford faculty.  Such fun!

London – As befits a big city, there are so many choices!  You could try the Sherlock Holmes mysteries – I’ll be downloading those for sure.  Or if you want some children’s lit, how about Peter Pan?  When you finish it, you could drop by the statue of Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens and see if he’ll fly off to Neverland with you.  Or drop by King’s Cross Station to visit Platform 9 3/4 and think of Harry Potter… or stop to watch the Changing of the Guard and recite A. A. Milne’s poem “Buckingham Palace.”  (“Do you think the King knows all about me?”  “Sure to, dear, but it’s time for tea,” says Alice.)  And you can shop for books vicariously with 84, Charing Cross Road.  On this trip, I’m planning to pay tribute to London with some Dickens – Great Expectations, probably, or maybe Bleak House.

Where do you like to travel via literature?

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Tea Tasting: Mariage Freres Vert Marco Polo

This was a gift from my tea-loving BFF, R, on her last trip to Paris.  Marco Polo is one of the most popular Mariage Freres blends, and for good reason – it’s mild, yet flavorful, with a gentle vanilla, fruit and floral aroma.  On my own trip to Paris, I didn’t buy any Marco Polo, because I knew I had it at home (and, in fact, it’s one of just a few Mariage Freres blends available Stateside, through Dean & Deluca), but I ordered it in cafes.  Marco Polo is a perfect introduction to the wonderful world of Mariage Freres blends.  C’est delicieux.

The Leaves… Shards of green leaves, dotted with blue flowers.  Gives off a soft vanilla-floral scent – it’s mild, yet enticing.

The Brew… Light greenish-gold brew with a heady herbal aroma and smooth flavor.

The Experience… There’s nothing like Mariage Freres blends to give you the quintessential French tea experience.  Marco Polo takes you back to the company’s roots as a purveyor of spices and tea from the Far East.  It’s wonderful anytime, but I like to sit down with a cup when life gets a little too mundane, and let it take me on an exotic journey right at my kitchen table.

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The Scottish Highlands

Back to recapping our 2008 trip to Great Britain!  We left off in Scotland on the Isle of Skye.  From Skye we traveled to the mainland Scottish Highlands.  Skye had given us a taste, but the mainland really drove it home – it’s a different world up in northern Scotland.  We loved the bagpipes, tartans, and all the Scottish pride.  Hubby and I listened to traditional Scottish music in a pub called Hootananny in Inverness, which served up Scottish ales and pad Thai.  Yes, you read that right.  Highlights of the Highlands follow…

We visited Culloden Moor, site of the famous Battle of Culloden in 1746.  The Scots did a beautiful job preserving the battlefield – they laid out paths with red flags to mark the English lines and with blue flags to mark the lines of Highlanders, with mini-monuments to show where each Highland clan stood on the battle lines.  They marked the mass clan graves with poignant tombstones etched with just the clan name.  (I had to look for Clan Fraser, being obsessed with the Outlander novels at the time – total guilty pleasure – and I found it.)  There was also a state-of-the-art museum explaining the Highlanders’ rebellion and “Bonnie Prince Charlie,” and showing off battle memorabilia and artwork.  As one of hubby’s friends quipped when he saw our pictures after we returned, “Leave it to the Scots to make their most glorious battlefield monument to a defeat.” 

After Culloden, we explored some more Highlands high points.

Cawdor Castle.

Beautiful gardens on the grounds of Cawdor Castle.

The Clava Cairns, a prehistoric burial ground (interesting, but pretty eerie).

Loch Ness (no Nessie sightings, unfortunately).

And finally, lovely Inverness.  We loved the wild, fierce pride the Scots have in their country.  Nowhere was it more evident than in the untamed Highlands.

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Italian Sausage and Veggie Stew

Sometimes I just get an idea in my head and I have to run with it.  The fall weather is slowly starting to creep into the mid-Atlantic region – mornings are darker, temperatures are cooling down, and we’ve had a fair amount of that grey fall rain.  I guess I need to let go of summer.  With the change in the weather I’m starting to feel the long-dormant itch to get into the kitchen and prepare warm, nourishing foods.  This stew is one of them.  I had pasta e fagioli on the menu and wasn’t quite feeling it.  I wanted something a bit greener.  Then the idea popped into my head for a hearty, healthy stew with kale, Field Roast Italian sausages and tubetti pasta.  I thought about it on the entire commute home one of the first cool days and as soon as we pulled into the garage, I made a beeline for the kitchen to whip it up.  Like I said, sometimes I just get an idea in my head and I have to run with it.

Italian Sausage and Veggie Stew

1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 white onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
3/4 cup fresh green beans, diced (optional)
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
4 Field Roast Italian veggie sausage links, sliced (sub other sausage if desired)
4 cups vegetable broth
1 cup water
1/2-3/4 box small pasta shape (I used De Cecco tubetti)
1 package frozen kale (sub spinach)
pepper to taste (optional)
freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

  • In a cast-iron Dutch oven, warm olive oil over medium heat until shimmering.  Add diced veggies and season with salt.  Saute until golden and softened, about 5 minutes.
  • Add sausage slices and saute with veggies until sausage slices are warmed through and beginning to acquire some color, about 3 more minutes.
  • Pour in vegetable broth and water, stir to ensure nothing sticks to bottom of pot.  Bring liquid to a boil, then add pasta.
  • Boil pasta for the time required on the box (for tubetti it was 10 minutes), stirring frequently to ensure no sticking. 
  • Add frozen kale and stir to heat through.  Test pasta for doneness – it may take an extra minute or so because it’s competing with lots of sausage and veggies!
  • If desired, season with pepper and top with grated Parmesan.  (Italian sausage has lots of flavor so I didn’t find I needed this step.)  Serve hot and enjoy!

Source: Covered In Flour

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The Dining Room, Before and After-ish

There were no Labor Day picnics or barbeques in this household this year.  No, we decided that the best way to celebrate Labor Day weekend was with some good, old-fashioned hard labor.  Isn’t that right, Comrades?  (Just kidding… about the Comrades thing, anyway.  I took enough college economics classes to know what doesn’t work.)  But, unfortunately, we’re not kidding about the hard labor thing.  We designated Labor Day weekend for some badly-needed house maintenance, including assembling a bookshelf (hubby) and a wine rack (hubby) and painting the dining room (together).  The dining room is just about done now – all that’s left to do is replace the chandelier, although we might wait until 2012 for that one, since the house has been pretty spoiled lately.

Here she is, all taped up and ready to go:

And mid-paint job:

And here are the after-ish pictures (feel free to ignore the chandelier, and imagine something like this in its place instead).  The actual color is more subdued and muted, with faint grey undertones, than the yippee-skippee-sky blue that it reads on the screen.  So if you’re questioning my sanity, please know that it’s a lot less bright in person!  It’s actually closest to the area next to the window in the pic above.

Next up to get the blues: the living room!