Eating Down the Fridge, Day 5: It had to happen eventually. Leftovers.

EDtF, Day 5.

My apologies for the obvious lack of pictures this week. The dishes I’ve made just haven’t wanted to flirt with the camera. And my “photographer” is out of town.

So here’s a picture of Penguin, being adorable on top of the fridge.

(photo courtesy Christopher Greene)

Awww.

And no. I have no idea what that is on the side of my freezer door. It will not clean off.

Tonight, I had a concert to go to. I was feeling overtired, overwhelmed and pulled in three different directions. It was not the night for pork and sauerkraut. Tomorrow. I promise.

(Yes, I am going out to dinner tomorrow night. But there’s nothing to stop me from making P+S at 3 in the afternoon.)

I opened the fridge and my eyes landed on the leftover red lentil soup from almost two weeks ago.

Soup keeps forever. And it was stored in a nifty jar mom gave me. A magical marshmallow fluff jar. Keeps the perfect amount of soup for one big bowl, the lid screws on really tight and it is a unique shape.

Mom’s not getting her jar back.

I checked the status of my greens, which I had washed, spun dry and put into plastic bags with a paper towel to absorb any excess moisture. On their last legs, but I could manage.

Then, tucked in the very back of my fridge, I saw two items that cemented the plan for dinner in my mind. The rest of a block of cream cheese and a small amount of Nikki’s Jezebel sauce.

I heated up the soup, made a quick salad with the spring mix and wilted the rest of the baby spinach in a saucepan. Then I dug out my last packet of saltines, spread them with cream cheese and topped each one with a small dollop of the sauce, which was how Nikki introduced me to the Jezebel magic in the first place. I want to share its goodness with you, but it will also have to wait.

Suffice to say it makes my Polish heart go pitter pat because it contains lots of horseradish. And I’ve been known to eat it straight from the jar with a spoon.

A big spoon.

The soup reheated beautifully, which gives me faith. I adapted it from a book called 125 Best Vegetarian Slow Cooker Recipes. I made the soup on the stovetop no problem. It’s quick and easy and vegan! You can even do most of the prep the night before and have it ready in under 30 minutes. Try it and see. The coconut milk lends an interesting and tasty dimension to the soup.

Red Lentil and Carrot Soup with Coconut Milk
serves 6

Ingredients

2 cups red lentils
1 T olive oil
2 sweet onions, diced
3 large carrots, peeled and sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2 tsp turmeric
2-3 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
½ tsp cracked black peppercorns (or freshly ground black pepper to taste)
2 14-oz cans diced tomatoes, including juice
1 quart vegetable stock
2 cups water
1 14-oz can coconut milk (can use lite – I did)
freshly squeezed lemon juice to taste
cayenne pepper to taste

Directions

In a colander, rinse lentils thoroughly under cold water. Set aside.

In a stock pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and carrots and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.

Add garlic and cook one minute.

Add turmeric, cumin, salt, pepper and cook, stirring, for one minute.

Add tomatoes with their juice and bring to a boil. Stir in lentils, stock and water.

Simmer for 20 minutes to 1 hour or more. However long you have.

Stir in coconut milk, lemon juice and cayenne. Simmer 20-30 additional minutes.

Serve warm, with crusty bread.

See Monday's entry for the updated list of food being used up from my fridge.

Soup for a party: Zuppa Toscana

I love soup. Though I've been known to make a huge pot of soup in the middle of July (in my sweltering, non-air-conditioned kitchen), winter is soup's time to shine. Soup has countless variations, is simple to prepare, tasty, nourishing and a comfort on cold nights.

So when my friend Devon said that she was having a "Soup Kitchen" party, I got excited. What a perfect opportunity to make my absolute favorite soup, Zuppa Toscana! While I wish I could say I discovered it at some out of the way trattoria in Italy, my journey to this recipe began at Olive Garden. They serve a version of this soup that is decently good, and it is one of their 'signature' dishes.

Mine is definitely better. I have tweaked and fiddled with this recipe so much it's pretty well divorced from where I found the original here. I try to make a big pot at least once per winter.

This is the kind of soup that needs crusty bread served with it to soak up the broth at the bottom of your bowl. This is also the kind of soup that makes people go, "Ooooh! Mmmmmm. Ahhhh..."

I love that reaction.

Perfect on very chilly days, it would have been great last weekend.
Y'know, when it snowed six inches?
It's 70 degrees outside right now.
There's a saying: "If you don't like the weather, wait five minutes."
I find this to be more true in Asheville than anywhere else I've lived, visited or dreamed of going.
Something about the mountains...

This soup has a kick, from the addition of crushed red pepper flakes. If you don't care for the heat, you can omit them, but don't skimp on the sage!

Zuppa Toscana

Ingredients

3/4 - 1 lb. Italian sausage (here I will make a rare endorsement: Hickory Nut Gap Farm. Their meats are the best I've tasted.)
2 large or 5 medium potatoes, large dice
1 large sweet onion, large dice
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 pieces bacon (again: Hickory Nut Gap, especially after reading this piece on Smithfield)
1 small bunch kale, rinsed and torn into small pieces
1 can Great Northern (cannellini) beans, drained and rinsed
1 quart chicken broth
1 quart water
a few Tablespoons of white wine for deglazing
1/4-1/2 cup half and half
freshly ground black pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, fresh or dried sage, Italian seasoning

Directions

(Note: Taste the broth as you move through the steps and start adding spices. Remember that the half and half and puree that you add at the end will dilute your spices. And go easy on the salt!)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Roll sausage into bite-sized balls. Place on baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes or until browned. Drain on paper towels, sprinkle with dried sage and set aside.

Steam kale and set aside.

Add potatoes to a pot of cold water and cook until done (bring to boil, plus 5-7 minutes). Drain.

In a large pot (I used a 6-quart and had plenty of room), cook bacon on medium heat. Remove bacon and add a tablespoon of olive oil and the onions. Saute onions until translucent, then add garlic and cook for one more minute. Briefly turn the heat up to medium high and add the white wine, then scrape up the delicious browned bacon and onion bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. Turn the heat back down to medium.

Mince the bacon into bacon bits. Set aside.

In a blender, put 1/2 cup of the chicken broth, half the onion/garlic mixture, half the potatoes and half the beans. Pulse to a puree. Set aside.

Back at the stove, add remaining potatoes and beans to onion/garlic mixture. Pour in chicken broth and water. Add red pepper flakes, more sage and Italian seasoning. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Add cooked sausage balls, bacon bits, salt/pepper. Simmer 10 more minutes.

Reduce to low heat. Add kale, puree and half and half.

Heat through and serve.

This soup keeps well for a few days and reheats easily.