So last night was shitty.  My 45 mile, almost entirely Interstate commute took about 2 hours. Pretty much what I expected after leaving the movie theater at 9:00 and walking into sleet/freezing rain but what really chapped my ass were the people following me on the state highway after I got off the interstate.  Hello!  It’s raining ICE and you (and the three vehicles following you) are tailgating my ass?

I seriously should have hit the brakes several times because:
A) daddy always needs money.and can convincingly pass off stress-related muscle tension as ‘pain and suffering,’ and
B) I would have taken an unseemly amount of joy if the asstard didn’t hit me but wound up in a ditch.

You’re from Indiana. You have endured winters here. You know to allow for more following distance.

Next time, I’ll let you hit me and sue your sorry ass for all that you own.

But I digress.

Due to the weather, I stayed in today and cooked this little Pantry Masterpiece.

Pork Posole Stew

Ingredients

3-4 Onions, Chopped
2 Tbs Oregano (or more)
6-8 cloves garlic, diced
1/12 -2 lb pork loin cut into 3/4 inch hunks
2 1/2 boxes chicken stock
Flour, for dredging
oil as needed
1/2 stick Butter, unsalted
1 can Chipotles in adobo, chopped (more or less, depending on how spicy you like it)
3 cans Pozole (Hominy) White or yellow--your call, drained
2 1/2 boxes Chicken or vegetable stock

Directions

Preheat oil in a big ass stock pot over med-high heat.  While this is going on, dredge the pork hunks in flour and brown on all sides, in batches if needed.

Add the onions, garlic, olive oil and butter and saute until onions are translucent. Re-add any browned pork and juices that had to be removed and set aside.

Add the posole, oregano, chipotles and stock to the pot.  Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer.

Simmer, covered for a couple hours until pork is fork tender.

Serve with cornbread.

Note: Depending on how much oil you used while sauteing the pork and the incredibly large amount of onions and garlic, there will be a boatload of oil floating on top by dinnertime. I used a couple slices of bread to soak most of it up.

I found this recipe while cruising through Kitchen Daily the other day. It was part of a slideshow featuring comforting soups and stews for autumn. It sounded tasty and combined with the stage three Dukan-friendly ingredients and the fact that every ingredient but the poblano is a pantry staple makes it a fast, tasty no-brainer. If you like your food a bit spicier, you might want to include a small, diced jalapeno with the poblanos. 

Ingredients
4 tsp olive oil, divided
1 lb pork loin, cut into 1/2 to 1 inch cubes
1 onion, halved and sliced
2 Poblano peppers, diced
2 clove garlic, minced
1 med russet potato, peeled and dice into 1/2 inch cubes
1 can chicken broth
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cayenne
1 Tbs lime juice

Directions

Pour 2 tsp oil into a large saucepan over med heat. Add the pork and cook until no longer pink outside, maybe 4 or 5 minutes. Move to a bowl along with any pan juices.

Add the other 2 tsp oil onion and poblano to the pan. Cook until softened, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook another minute or so.

Add the chicken broth, potatoes, cumin, oregano, salt and cayenne. Bring to a simmer over medium heat.  Reduce to a low simmer, partially cover the pan and simmer about 10 minutes until potatoes are tender.  Add the port and accumulated juices back to the pan, cover partially and simmer until pork is cooked through and potatoes are fall apart tender, maybe another 5 minutes.  Stir in lime juice before serving.

Serves 4.

Notes:
I used that new Knorr stock that’s being advertised by Marco Pierre White. It’s expensive, but highly concentrated. A six pack makes 14 cups of stock that tastes pretty damn good all on it’s own.  Much better than the canned or aseptic-packaged dreck you can buy at the local Food-a-Teria.

This would be equally good made with chicken.

Bowl: Key West by Lenox Casual Images

I found this recipe while cruising through Kitchen Daily the other day. It was part of a slideshow featuring comforting soups and stews for autumn. It sounded tasty and combined with the stage three Dukan-friendly ingredients and the fact that every ingredient but the poblano is a pantry staple makes it a fast, tasty no-brainer. If you like your food a bit spicier, you might want to include a small, diced jalapeno with the poblanos. 

Ingredients
4 tsp olive oil, divided
1 lb pork loin, cut into 1/2 to 1 inch cubes
1 onion, halved and sliced
2 Poblano peppers, diced
2 clove garlic, minced
1 med russet potato, peeled and dice into 1/2 inch cubes
1 can chicken broth
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cayenne
1 Tbs lime juice

Directions

Pour 2 tsp oil into a large saucepan over med heat. Add the pork and cook until no longer pink outside, maybe 4 or 5 minutes. Move to a bowl along with any pan juices.

Add the other 2 tsp oil onion and poblano to the pan. Cook until softened, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook another minute or so.

Add the chicken broth, potatoes, cumin, oregano, salt and cayenne. Bring to a simmer over medium heat.  Reduce to a low simmer, partially cover the pan and simmer about 10 minutes until potatoes are tender.  Add the port and accumulated juices back to the pan, cover partially and simmer until pork is cooked through and potatoes are fall apart tender, maybe another 5 minutes.  Stir in lime juice before serving.

Serves 4.

Notes:
I used that new Knorr stock that’s being advertised by Marco Pierre White. It’s expensive, but highly concentrated. A six pack makes 14 cups of stock that tastes pretty damn good all on it’s own.  Much better than the canned or aseptic-packaged dreck you can buy at the local Food-a-Teria.

This would be equally good made with chicken.

Bowl: Key West by Lenox Casual Images

I know, I know.It doesn’t sound like the most appetizing of recipes, not is it very healthy, but it’s surprisingly good and easy to prepare,assuming you can find canned corned beef in your local Foodomat.  I’ve been looking for it for the better part of a year and finally found them in a Meijer store at 2:00 am.  Anyway, I first had these tasty morsels whilst visiting my friend Newt in St Paul last year at about this time. Her Mom, Bea made them when she (Newt) was a kid.I wasn’t sure about them either but after her hubby, Michael cooked them for dinner, I was hooked.  It’s also pretty much a blank slate that can be jacked around with if you wish to change the flavor.

Ingredients

”

1 can corned beef (NOT corned beef hash!)
chopped fresh onion (1/4 to ½ an onion)
6 Tbs tomato sauce
3 Tbs mayo
Soft taco sized corn tortillas (I used the ones that come in a bag of like 90)
Shredded lettuce
Grated cheese
Chopped fresh tomato

Directions

”

Mix corned beef, onion, tomato sauce, and mayo until well blended and creamy. I wound up using a potato masher.  Yes, I know.  At this point you’re probably thinking that whatever is in the dog’s bowl looks better. Bear with me. It gets better.

Heat oil in a skillet.

Fill center of tortilla with corned beef mixture and lay flat in skillet so that it gets wet from the oil than fold gently in half.  Fry both sides till lightly golden brown.

Remove from skillet and place on paper towel to drain/absorb excess oil. 
Immediately sprinkle cheese inside taco so that it will melt

Add lettuce and tomato when ready to eat.
Makes 12-16 tacos.

”

*Tips:
Because the tortillas have a tendency to split whilst being fried, Michael steams them for a bit before putting in the pan.  I nuked mine for about 30 seconds wrapped in damp paper towels and they did just spiffy.

I was able to cook 3 at a time by staggering when I put them in the skillet.

I put the cheese directly on top of the filling and let it cook/melt whilst frying rather than add it later.

After eating them, enchilada sauce seems like it would be a nice substitute for the tomato sauce.

China: Whitley Manor

So Nutella. 

Is there anything that this miraculous substance can’t make better?  Bacon, perhaps, but that’s only because it doesn’t firm up enough to be able to make Nutella coated bacon bars. Anyway, I finally found a recipe for them and not only does it have Nutella in it, but lots of Nutella and not much else.  Seriously.  There’s only four ingredients. Two of them containing chocolate.

Nutella Chocolate Chip cookies

Ingredients

2 cups Nutella
2 egg whites
1/4 cup all-purpose flour (see note)
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used dark chocolate chips instead)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Use a fork to blend the Nutella with the egg whites. Be warned: You’ll feel like you have truck driver arms after mixing all the ingredients together.  I was tempted to used a hand mixer but was afraid that the texture would change with the addition of the air that would be beaten in. If you want to try it though, by all means have at it. Anyway… Once the eggs and Nutella are well mixed, mix in the flour, followed by the chocolate chips.

Use a 1-1/4-inch ice cream scoop (or teaspoons) to shape the cookies into balls of batter, placing them on the parchment-lined baking sheets as you go.  There should be about 15 per sheet, with about 2 inches between them.

Bake in the preheated oven until the cookies are almost dry, about 7 minutes.  It’s okay (in fact, it’s great) if they are still a bit doughy — they’ll continue to cook a bit out of the oven.  Let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack.  Cool them at least until they are room temperature before serving.

notes:

If you want to make these gluten-free, use almond meal or unsweetened cocoa instead. It’ll probably make them a little flatter but also crispier, which is also delicious.

If you make the balls of batter a little bigger (say about 1 inch wide) they’ll turn out taller, but have more of a brownie consistency.

After tasting far too many of these than my diet would allow, I’ve begun to think that it might be a neat to substitute some chopped nuts or or dried fruit for some of the chocolate chips in order to add a bit of a different taste and cut back a bit on the chocolate overload.

Congratulations to Mister P and Other Mr P on their marriage.

best wishes, gents!

So My friend Andrea gave me this recipe and now that it’s getting to be chillier out, this had to be on the menu. Unfortunately for me, my sump pump #2 decided to be a total bitch during my prep work. Fifty dollars, one trip to Menard’s (I know!  No project ever only takes a single trip to the hardware store, right?) and several hours later I got back to making this. 

4 Bone-in Chicken Breasts (skin on too!)
3 Carrots, peeled and chunked
1 Green Pepper, chunked
1 Jalapeno, seeded
2 Sweet Potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 Small to Medium Onion, chunked
1 Cup Peas
3 TBSP Flour, Heaping
4 Cups Chicken Stock
2 tsp Garlic Powder
2 tsp Curry Powder
1 tsp Soy Sauce
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 Cup Unsweetened Coconut Milk
Olive Oil for sauteeing

In a large soup pot, add in some olive oil (2TBSP) and heat over medium heat. Lightly sprinkle the chicken breasts with some salt and pepper. Add to the pot and gently brown on each side, about 2 minutes per side.  Depending on the size of your pot, you may want to dig out your poultry shears and cut each breast in half.  This will also help them to cook faster as well. Once they’re lightly browned, transfer them to a platter and set aside. Add in all of the veggies except for the peas.  Sautee for about 3 minutes then seasoning with all of the seasonings, including the soy sauce. Cook for about another 3 minutes. Add in the flour and stir, cook for about 2-3 minutes.  Slowly add in the chicken stock and stir, making sure to scrape up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan.  Once all the stock is added, place chicken breasts and any juices that collected on the platter into the pot as well.  Bring to a simmer and simmer for about 20 minutes or so until the chicken is cooked through. Depending on how big the breasts are, will determine cooking time.

When the chicken is cooked, remove from pot and set aside on a clean platter for a few minutes to cool.  With an immersion blender, lightly blend the soup. Not too much, you don’t want the soup to be pureed. You want it to be chunky and thick.  Once the soup is blended, remove skin from chicken and start to shred the chicken.  Add the shredded chicken back into the soup along with the 1C of peas. Add in the coconut milk as well.  Bring back to a simmer and cook for about another 10 minutes.

Dish into bowls and serve!

Notes:  I threw in some cauliflower that I had on hand as well and probably will still add another carrot and another sweet potato the next time I make this. Maybe a bit more flour also so that the stew is thicker and the liquid is more gravy-like.

China:  Southampton Garden by Lenox

We at Nergens are happy to announce the addition of Bart to the kitchen staff here. Bart has bravely stepped up to attempt to fill the void created by the untimely demise of the late, lamented Mr Choppy, a long-time staff member who’s service had almost made him a member of the family. 

While there are sure to be some rough spots as we adjust to each other, we’re sure that Bart will bring a valuable new perspective to the kitchen.  We’re quite sure that he will be every bit as reliable as the late Mr. Choppy and not like my erstwhile kitchen staff, Svetlana and Minka, who picked the locks on their manacles in the Basement of Eternal Peril Staff Quarters and escaped ran off with Carstairs Wafflebottom, the malcontent former estate Groundskeeper.  And after all I did for them! Sponsoring their passage from one of those eastern European countries with too many letters in it’s name… giving them room and board… hose privileges… I mean, sure.  The Servant’s Quarters weren’t always exactly dry but there was never more than 14 inches of standing water at a time but none of the other landowners in Bubbastan allow unlimited hose access. And where are they now?  Pole dancing in a converted double-wide at the Upper Bubbastan Mobile Manor and teaching the art of back hair braiding; a custom from their native land.

But I digress. We here at Nergens are sure that Bart will fit right in (though not under the cabinet, obviously) and become as valued a family member as Mr Choppy himself was.

It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Mr Choppy, resident of The Kitchen, Nergens.

He died as he lived, creating tasty food--in this case, delicious home made sausage--when his mighty Blades of Bad-Assedness broke apart.

He is survived by his nephew, Little Oscar who will try to live up to the giant expectations created by Choppy until a replacement can be found.

His funeral was a well attended and well catered affair, including members of the Flynn-Fletcher family, representatives of the food groups he serviced, Pinky, The Brain, and delegates from royal houses, including The KING, King Tutankhamen, and the Big J himself.

So a few weeks ago when I was in the C-bus I noticed the sad state of Mom’s fridge and took her shopping at the local Kro-ghetto (Mom refuses to shop at the Grocery Ranch™ since I was shit-canned). As luck would have it, they were sampling Aidell’s sausages and giving out coupons!  Yay! I can’t normally justify buying Aidell’s sausage because it’s kinda spendy but at $1.50 off, I can afford it. Especially for Andouille

Then I found a recipe for an Andouille po-boy on Serious Eats that I’d bookmarked and decided that it’d do. It’s surprisingly quick to prep and assemble. From start to finish I doubt that I took more than 10-15 minutes.I called it a pobrecito instead of a po-boy because the pickled jalapenos and Rooster sauce kick up the heat quite a bit.

Andouille Sausage Pobrecito

Ingredients
2 6 inch french bread loaves or other crusty rolls
1/2 lb Andouille sausage
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 Tbs whole grain or creole mustard
squirt of hot sauce to taste
1/2 sm onion, thinly sliced
dill pickle slices
pickled jalapeno slices

Directions
Cut the Andouille into 1/2 inch thick bias slices.  Toss into a skillet over medium heat and cook until browned on both sides. If they’re too greasy after cooking, drain on paper towels after they’re done.

While the sausage is cooking, combine the mayo, mustard and hot sauce in a bowl.  Slice the bread horizontally and scoop a small pit out of the bottom slice of bread, leaving about 1/2 inch around the outer edges. 

Spread the mayo-mustard mixture on the top and bottom of each bun.  If you didn’t use a mandoline to slice your onions like I didn’t, rise the blood off the onions before layering them, the jalapeno slices and pickles before putting the sliced Andouille on the bottom slices of bread.  Cover with the top slice and enjoy. 

Notes:
The next time I make these (and I will) I’ll double the amount of mayo and make it spicier--maybe add a bit of garlic as well.  The samiches could have used more and it’s pretty damn tasty on its own.

China: Westchester, by Lenox. The most expensive china I’ve ever held, with the exception of a few pieces of Nancy Reagan’s White House China when I worked for Lenox.

This is a crazy easy dish to make and tastes pretty damn fine for having so few ingredients.The only oddball thing is that you will need to search out some tuna packed in oil.

Ingredients
1 12 ox box whole-wheat rotini or penne
2 cans oil-packed tuna
2 Tbs whole grain, spicy mustard
2-3 cups frozen veggies, thawed (I used peas and corn)

Directions

Cook the pasta until al dente. When done, drain the pasta and reserve about a cup or so of the pasta water.

While the pasta cooks, drain the tuna’s packing oil into a small skillet and flake the fish into pieces.  Add the mustard to the oil and heat over med-low heat.

After draining pasta return to the pot and add the veggies and the oil and mustard mixture.  Add some of the reserved pasta water and cook over medium heat until the mustard oil and pasta water form a sauce that begins to cling to the pasta.  Serve immediately.

Serves 4

since being funemployed I’ve had a lot more time on my hands which I normally would have filled by cooking but until yesterday it was too damn hot and the diet I’ve been on didn’t allow for much playing with my food. Since it was cold, cloudy and rainy, today was the perfect day to cook.

Sriracha-soy roasted chicken with vegetables*
For The Marinade
1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup Sriracha
2 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbs lemon juice
1 Tbs Dijon mustard
1 Tbs brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

For The Roast
8 chicken thighs
6 ribs celery, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
4 garlic cloves, smashed
2 medium yellow onions, quartered
2 medium sweet potatoes, cut in 1½-inch pieces
1 small cauliflower, broken into 1½-inch florets
2 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Directions
Whisk all of the marinade ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Rinse the chicken and pat dry with paper towels. Place in a large bowl. Pour the marinade over the chicken. Coat all over the chicken, including between the skin and meat. Transfer chicken to a roasting pan, skin-side up, leaving any excess marinade in the bowl. Add vegetables, olive oil, salt and pepper to the same bowl. Toss to coat. Scatter the vegetables around the chicken in the roasting pan. Bake in oven 30 minutes.

Remove pan and, using tongs, carefully turn chicken over in pan, breast-side down. Continue roasting 20 minutes. Remove pan and turn chicken over once again, breast-side up. Continue roasting until thoroughly cooked and juices run clear from thigh when pierced with a knife, about 20 minutes.

Remove from oven and transfer chicken to cutting board. Tent loosely with foil and let rest 15 minutes before carving. Stir vegetables in the pan with the juices and keep warm. Serve chicken with vegetables and reserved juices.

Serves 4
*Adapted from a whole-chicken recipe found on NPR
China: Rose Garden by Lenox

So in a pleasant series of events, my sister gave me some produce from her garden, including a nice, but not huge zucchini at about the same time that Andrea over at Food Embrace posted a recipe for vegetarian Stuffed Zucchini.  Her recipe was scaled for a monster zucchini and the one I had was only about a 10 inches long and not bloated like a zeppelin, so I had to scale it down a bit and of course I made substitutions because I wasn’t about to make the 25 minute round trip to the store.

Andrea’s Stuffed Zucchini
Ingredients:

1 HUGE zucchini, (literally like a foot in length, or as big as you can find)

1/3 C Uncooked Quinoa

1 1/2C Chicken Stock (or veggie broth)*

1/2 Cup, chopped onion

1/2 Cup Shredded Carrot

1/2 cup baby asparagus, chopped

5-8 Grape Tomatoes, quartered

1tsp Garlic Powder, or to taste

1tsp Italian Seasoning

Shredded mozzarella or provolone (optional)

Olive Oil for sauteeing

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and grease a baking dish by rubbing some olive oil around it. In a small sauce pan, heat over medium high heat and add about a teaspoon of olive oil to it.  Add in the uncooked quinoa and sautee for about 2 minutes.  Add in the stock and bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer.  Simmer until the millet is cooked and has absorbed the liquid.  You may have to add a bit more stock if it evaporates before the quinoa is completely cooked through.

Trim the ends of the zucchini and cut in half lengthwise.  Scoop out the insides being careful not to scoop down too far.  You want to create a long dent in the zucchini so you can stuff it later.  Place zucchinis in the baking dish once they have been fully scooped out.

Once the quinoa has cooked, place in a medium sized glass mixing bowl.  Add in the tomatoes, carrot, onion and asparagus. Add in the seasonings as well.  Mix until well combined.  Stuff the millet mixture into the zucchinis, packing them tightly.  If you have leftover stuffing, sprinkle that along the bottom of the baking dish.

Place in oven uncovered and bake until you hear the stuffing sizzling and the top is a golden brown color. The zucchinis should be cooked through by this point.  About 15 minutes.

Remove from oven and top with shredded cheese.

Notes:
*You may want to use low sodium stock if possible.  The quinoa was tasty and chickeny but rather salty.  It wasn’t as noticeable when mixed into stuffing, but if you’re concerned about sodium, it’s worth considering.

You can pretty much vary the veggies, herbs and spices in the stuffing with whatever you have on hand. It would probably also work well rolled into a flattened chicken breast or as a side dish.

China: Wyndecrest by Lenox

Oh stop it.  Spam isn’t nearly as disgusting as you think it is though I’ll admit that its not something I immediately think of putting into fried rice.  After it’s browned up though, it’s surprisingly good.  This comes from The Sriracha Cookbook and is really freakin’ good and spicy, but not too spicy. Sorry-- no picture of this one.  My camera had issues today.

Ingredients
1/4 cup Sriracha, plus more for garnish
3 Tbs soy sauce
3 Tbs toasted sesame oil or peanut oil
1 brick SPAM, diced into chunks no smaller than 1/3 inch
1/2 cup frozen corn kernels
4 cups cooked rice, cooled (preferably day-old)
2 eggs
1 clove garlic, minced
Sliced green onions, green part only, for garnish

Directions

whisk together the Sriracha and soy sauce and set aside.

Heat a large nonstick/cast-iron skillet or wok over very high heat until it is rocket hot. Add 1 tablespoon of the oil to the skillet and let it heat up until it begins to shimmer and wrinkle, 10 to 15 seconds. Toss in the SPAM and corn and cook until the meat begins to brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Add an additional tablespoon of oil to the pan, and heat for 10 seconds. toss in the rice, stirring to coat each grain with oil. Stir-fry for 3 minutes.

Move the rice mixture toward the outer edges of the pan, creating a “well” in the center. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the center of the pan, and heat until it shimmers, 10 to 15 seconds. Add the eggs and garlic, stirring feverishly. Cook until the eggs are cooked through, then drizzle the Sriracha/ soy mixture over the rice. Toss everything together to combine, cooking for an additional 30 seconds or so.

Mound the rice into bowls, garnish with Sriracha and green onions, and serve immediately.

Notes after cooking:

Needs more veggies!  I’d probably use 3 1/2 cups of rice (or less) and add more corn, maybe some peas and possibly some diced red bell pepper.

If you don’t have a big-ass, high-sided wok, it’s going to be hard to get enough space at the bottom of your wok/skillet to properly and quickly cook your eggs.  Next time I’ll probably cook the eggs ahead of time and stir them in shortly before serving.

If you’re really Spam-averse I suppose you could use ham but it won’t have the same texture and mouth-feel.

There’s about a billion variations on this recipe out there but I love the simple nature of a post-fast soup. This is traditionally made with lamb, but a few more garbanzos and vegetable broth makes it an outstanding vegetarian stew.

2 Tbs unsalted butter 1 tsp red pepper flakes or

1 Tbs oil 1/2 tsp cayenne

2 onions, sliced 1/2 tsp ground ginger

2-4 cloves minced garlic 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 red pepper, sliced 1/2 tsp ground tumeric

1 can whole tomatoes (28 oz) 1/2 tsp ground cumin

3 Tbs chopped cilantro 8 cups hot water

1 Tsp salt 1 cup lentils

1/4 tsp black pepper 2 cans chick peas, drained

1/2 cup angel hair pasta, broken

into 1 inch pieces

Heat butter and oil in a stockpot over med-high heat.  Add onions and bell pepper and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook another minute or so. While onions are cooking, toss the tomatoes, cilantro, salt and pepper in a food processor and pulse until smooth.

Add ginger, cinnamon, tumeric, cumin and cayenne/crushed red pepper to the onions and cook for 1 or 2 minute more. Pour in the tomato mixture and bring to a boil.  Add the lentils and water.  Cover and reduce heat to low.  Simmer until lentils are tender, about 30 minutes.

Add the chickpeas and bring the soup up to a low boil.  Add the pasta and cook until tender, about 6-8 minutes.

Serves 8

2 Tbs unsalted butter 1 tsp red pepper flakes or

1 Tbs oil 1/2 tsp cayenne

2 onions, sliced 1/2 tsp ground ginger

2-4 cloves minced garlic 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 red pepper, sliced 1/2 tsp ground tumeric

1 can whole tomatoes (28 oz) 1/2 tsp ground cumin

3 Tbs chopped cilantro 8 cups hot water

1 Tsp salt 1 cup lentils

1/4 tsp black pepper 2 cans chick peas, drained

1/2 cup angel hair pasta, broken

into 1 inch pieces

Heat butter and oil in a stockpot over med-high heat.  Add onions and bell pepper and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook another minute or so. While onions are cooking, toss the tomatoes, cilantro, salt and pepper in a food processor and pulse until smooth.

Add ginger, cinnamon, tumeric, cumin and cayenne/crushed red pepper to the onions and cook for 1 or 2 minute more. Pour in the tomato mixture and bring to a boil.  Add the lentils and water.  Cover and reduce heat to low.  Simmer until lentils are tender, about 30 minutes.

Add the chickpeas and bring the soup up to a low boil.  Add the pasta and cook until tender, about 6-8 minutes.

Serves 8

A good cook is not necessarily a good woman with an even temper. Some allowance should be made for artistic temperament.
~X. Marcel Boulestin

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