This week, I am going it alone in Bend while 2Chili tends to some business in Seattle.
I realized I never really explained why we do a split life in two places – I noted that we bought a house in Oregon and that was that. We decided to buy a second home in Oregon as a getaway, and while we knew it would be a challenge, we were ready to spread our wings a little. We are both impatient types, and having been finished with our latest remodel for a couple years, we were getting kind of bored and wanted a new adventure of sorts. Bend offers all of
Our professional lives are most definitely in Seattle, so, that’s why we do what we do. Sometimes we’re together in Seattle. Sometimes we’re together in Bend. And, sometimes we’re in totally separate locations altogether, depending our our work demands. Truth be told, I think we both enjoy a little “alone time” from time-to-time. After 10 years together, it is healthy to maintain one’s individual identity. Plus, it lets us each eat what we want without guilt!
It is very cold in Central Oregon right now, and I want soup! 2Chili has a “hot liquids” aversion, so soup doesn’t fly around our house very often.
I wanted a lentil soup, but, couldn’t find a recipe that met my requirements completely: Veggie broth base and lentils –- no bullion cubes, no bacon, no chicken stock, no bones, and no fancy ingredients! Alas, I made one up – and it is <ahem> – if I do say so myself, soupertasty!
And, because it uses red lentils, it comes together a in a flash. In a slight contradiction of my objectives, red lentils are more of a specialty, I suppose, but you can find them at Whole Foods Market. In fact, there is a coupon this month for $1 off.
Creamy Red Lentil and Cauliflower Soup
Makes: Approximately 5 servings
Ingredients
- 1 small sweet onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, diced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- dash of garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1.5 cups red lentils, rinsed and drained
- 6-7cups low sodium vegetable broth (Make your own – it is easy and free!)
- 1/2 head of cauliflower
- 6-8 baby carrots
Method
- Heat oil in a large pot over a medium/low flame
- When oil is heated, add onions and garlic and sauté until soft and fragrant
- Add all spices, 6 cups veggie broth, and lentils. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for about 20 minutes
- Meantime, chop 1/2 of a head of cauliflower and steam with baby carrots until cauliflower is just tender
- Add the steamed cauliflower and carrots to the soup mixture and continue to simmer for about another 20 minutes, adding more broth as needed and using a wooden spoon to break up the cauliflower into smaller bits
- Ladle 1/2 of the soup, including all of the carrots, into a blender and puree until smooth. Return the puree to the soup and combine.
- Serve with a dollop of Greek yogurt or sour cream for an even creamier soup
Nutrition
For 5 servings, a little more than one cup each. This is calculated based on store bought low-sodium broth, which is still high in sodium. If you make your own broth without salt, each serving only has 175 mg of sodium.
View Comments (11)
oh you must be reading my mind. I keep thinking about your two homes, and today I was planning on going back to your past posts to see if I could learn the details. haha. And here you are with the explanation right on schedule!
This recipe looks yummy. I am loving the red lentils from WF too. I’ve been adding them to rice (brown and white), and they just melt into the grains. It’s funny how the “red” fades!
I’m saving this recipe. I love cauliflower and together with lentils, it sounds yummy. I love all the spices too.
Hi Debbie,
Yep! That is our story! We have gutted two houses completely together and got so efficient at time management that we were kind of bored without a project. But, I insisted our vacation house would not be a fixer-upper. 2Chili is an architect so our remodels are highly elaborate, and I don’t want to do that again!
The red lentils are fantastic. I like that they cook faster and they are a little prettier than green lentils!
We are just now getting a “real” winter in the Northwest. In fact, we haven’t even been downhill skiing once yet! That’ll change this weekend, I hope.
OH and I forgot to say you look so happy skiing. How fun! We usually get more snow here in the northeast, but even way up north, it’s been a gloomy season.
Lol! My husband hates soup too!!! I don’t get it! It’s a healthy meal in a bowl! A one eat wonder! Personally, I could live on a big hot pot full of veggies with some lentils and broth ANY DAY -even when it’s 110 degrees out here in Tucson! lol! Looking forward to trying this recipe! How different is the taste of red lentils compared to regular ones? Any noticeable difference? Just curious since I’ve never had red ones…
Hi Meg,
I am glad to know I am not the only one with a soup-averse hubby!
You know, I think the red lentils have less of a distinctive taste than green lentils. They are a little thinner, so they cook faster. Believe it or not, this was my first try with them too! I really liked them!
yummmmmy this looks sooooo tastyGot to try this one!!!
I love this recipe! I haven’t cooked with red lentils for awhile, but this is now on my list for this weekend. Thank you!
Yay, hope you enjoy!
I made this yesterday, and it’s so good! I used frozen cauliflower instead of fresh, and didn’t bother steaming it. Thanks so much fore the recipe!
I wanted to print it out for a friend, and noticed the ingredients on the pdf appear to be for a different recipe–it calls for spaghetti squash & pasta. But everything else is for the lentil soup.
Oh my gosh, Traci. All this time and I had no idea about that mistake! This was before I started using Recipage for my recipes, and I clearly messed up when re-using a template. I’ll get this ported over to Recipage as soon as I possible to fix the issue. Thank you so much for letting me know!
You are welcome. It’s funny that no one else noticed. They probably just printed it directly form you blog. I think it’s great that you make a pdf for people!