Long time no blog...here's a soup recipe.

Trying to get back into blogging. Things have been kind of dull around here. No sweet puppy to come home to anymore. I haven't been motivated to do much more than go to work, come home, shower and make very simple dinners that don't require much effort, ingredients or time. These past couple of weeks I've been focusing on soup because throwing things into one pot and walking away while dinner cooks itself is so appealing right now. I've been inspired by the soups on Fran's Ayurvedic blog. The one I made tonight is just a variation of what I've been doing the past two weeks. Whatever veggies I have on hand goes into the pot. It always turns out tasty.

Pureed Veggie and Lentil Soup With Pumpkin

1/4 to 1/2 cup mung dal (split mung beans)
2-3 cups chopped kale leaves
1 cup broccoli, chopped
1 zucchini, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 tsp grated ginger
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp yellow mild curry powder
1 tsp soy sauce
1/4 cup pureed pure pumpkin from a can (ingredients should be just: pumpkin)
salt and pepper to taste

Put lentils and vegetables, (except pumpkin) in a pot. Add water to cover about 1" above the vegetables. Bring to a boil. Add spices/seasonings, stir and lower heat to medium and cover. Cook until all vegetables are tender and lentils are mushy. Blend half of the soup and pour back into the pot while simmering on low. Add the pureed pumpkin and stir well to incorporate. This will thicken up the soup. Simmer until heated through. Adjust spices and salt/pepper as needed. Serve with a drizzle of tahini and a squeeze of lemon.

Khichadi.

This is a basic indian porridge of rice and mung beans. You may use any other kind of lentil if you wish. This reminds me very much of jok or kao thom in Thai which is a basic rice porridge, without beans but usually with added meat or vegetables. I grew up eating kao thom on days when your stomach isn't feeling well or when you are sick. Today I needed some cheering up and I wanted to enjoy some kind of comfort food. I chose to make khichadi because I like the addition of mung beans for protein.

Here's a good recipe online. It says to soak the mung beans and rice but I didn't do that. I also used white rice instead of brown. The spices I used in mine were: cumin, turmeric, grated ginger, veggie broth powder and mushroom soy sauce. The Sriracha hot sauce on top is essential!

Salad, Sandwich, Cake.

This was my dinner tonight. My friend sprouted some mung beans and gave me some which I decided to use in this salad. I also added baked tempeh, tomatoes and creamy dijon dressing (dijon, vegenaise, red wine vinegar, garlic, sugar, pepper).


This was lunch sometime last week. Baked tofu sandwich!


And a yummy chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream that I made for Superbowl Sunday.

Moong Dosa.

Hard to believe, but I've never had dosa before. Yesterday at work my co-workers were raving about the ones they ate at a south indian restaurant in San Francisco. It got me in the mood to try this dish out. I bookmarked this recipe a while ago in hopes of making it and tonight was the perfect night. I prepared the batter in the morning after soaking a bowl of moong dal (mung beans), red lentils and rice in water overnight. I also prepared a masala filling from "Flavors of India" cookbook which has onions, chile, potatoes and spices like cumin and mustard seed. I tried to make coriander chutney (from same book) but made it too watery so I added some vegan mayo to thicken it up. I would have used soy yogurt but didn't have any.


The first dosa was a failure.


But the rest after that turned out much better. I know I could have made them thinner like they're supposed to be but I just don't have the skill just yet!


The end result: Pretty dosa filled with spicy potatoes and onions.


My dinner plate. It was delicious! I do want to try authentic dosa at an indian restaurant soon. This was a fun experiment.