Superfood Soup with Sweet Potato, Kale, Lentils & Barley

So I'm having a homely soup moment.

I know, I know the colors aren't doing me any favors here, but trust me, once you try this soup, you'll be hooked too.

This bitterly cold weather has me craving hot filling dishes.

This soup meets that craving while also being packed with nutrient-rich super foods: sweet potato, kale, lentils and barley. It's got everything in it--vegetables, greens, protein, and whole grains.  You could serve it with some salad and bread, but you don't have to. This is a complete meal in one bowl.

Lentils once had a bad reputation as tasteless hippie food, but don't be fooled--they're wonderful here.

They're seasoned with cumin, chili powder, paprika and tomato paste and simmered into soft, flavorful, filling nuggets of goodness.

This superfood soup is what we need to power us few the last few weeks of winter.  We got this!

Superfood Soup with Sweet Potato, Kale, Lentils & Barley

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced
1/4 cup plus two tablespoons barley
3 tablespoons tomato paste
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon paprika
4 1/2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
1 cup lentils
1 bunch of kale, leaves removed and finely chopped


Directions: 
Add olive oil to a large dutch oven over medium heat. Add diced onion, carrot, and sweet potato. Cook for 8-10 minutes until onions are translucent and carrots and sweet potatoes are starting to soften.

Add barley, tomato paste, garlic, cumin, chili powder, and paprika. Stir to combine and cook for 2-3 minutes until barley is lightly toasted.

Add vegetable broth.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.  Add lentils and cook for another 15-20 minutes.

Right before you're ready to eat, add the kale and heat through until kale is just wilted.

When reheating later, the barley and lentils may absorb liquid, so add more broth/water as needed.


Inspired by this soup.

Curried Zucchini Soup with Quinoa (In the Crockpot)

I'm bringing you a humble, rather unphotogenic soup recipe today.

It's a far cry from the exciting dips and chips and wings and meatballs being consumed tonight for the Super Bowl, but I like it all the same.

Sometimes I want flashy food, (like these) but other times I want a meal that is simple and warm and comforting without requiring much forethought.

The year that Adam and I were engaged, he got assigned to a project in San Francisco. It was difficult because he traveled for two weeks at a time, but it also gave me an excuse to fly to San Francisco.

I went in early October, which is pretty much the best time of year to visit. It was sunny and in the mid 70's most of the weekend. That Saturday, we rented a car and drove up through Sonoma to the town of Calistoga. We went to an early wine tasting around 11:00 and then, slightly buzzed, sauntered across the street to a cafe for lunch.

Maybe it was the lingering effect of the wine, or the cloudless blue sky, or the giddiness of being in California, but it was one of the best lunches I've ever had. I can still picture it now. Our little table outside. Adam sitting across from me. The bright sunshine overhead.  And my bowl of curried zucchini soup.

It was simple, but so delicious, and I've done my best to recreate it here. I used the crockpot for ease, but you could make it on the stovetop just as easily.

This curried zucchini soup with quinoa is filling and flavorful with just the right amount of heat, and it's bringing back memories of the California sunshine even in the midst of this winter.

Curried Zucchini Soup with Quinoa (In the Crockpot)

Ingredients: 
1 heaping tablespoon red curry paste
1 can regular coconut milk
3-4 zucchini, diced into small pieces
1 large onion, diced
5 cups chicken or vegetable broth
2 teaspoons fish sauce
1 teaspoon ginger (or double that in grated fresh ginger if you have it)
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or more, to taste)
1/2 teaspoon salt  (or more, to taste)
1/3 to 1/2 cup quinoa*

*The quinoa will absorb some of the liquid. Add more quinoa for a thicker soup, less for a thinner soup

Directions: 
Set crockpot to high. Add curry paste and coconut milk and whisk together until curry paste is dissolved.

Add diced zucchini and onion, chicken broth, fish sauce, ginger, cayenne, and salt.

Cook on high for 3 hours or low for 7-8 hours.

Before eating, turn heat to high and add quinoa. Cook for 20-30 more minutes or until quinoa is fully cooked.

Serve with crusty bread, if desired.

Notes: 

• The crockpot is entirely optional here.  If you don't want to use it, simply heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a large dutch oven. Add the onions and cook for a few minutes, then add the curry paste and coconut milk and stir until curry is dissolved. Add zucchini, broth, and remaining spices. Cook for 30-40 minutes or until zucchini is soft. Add quinoa and cover,  cooking for an additional 20-30 or until quinoa is fully cooked. 
• If desired, puree the hot soup using an immersion blender, or in batches using a regular blender or food processor. 
• Don't have quinoa? Use rice instead. 
• Need more protein? Add a couple chicken breasts or thighs to the crockpot and shred before serving. Or add some chopped rotisserie chicken at the end. 

Adapted from It's the Little Things.

Best Ever Turkey Chili

Happy Sunday, friends. Today I'm sharing my mom's recipe for turkey chili. This is a no frills recipe, but I happen to think it's the best chili ever. It won the taste-test award in our church's chili contest several years ago, so it's the real deal.

I'm feeling limited on writing inspiration today, so I thought I'd do a sort of "taking stock" post following the lead of some of my favorite bloggers. (Katie, Jen & Bridget)

Making: plans for our Italy trip. We're spending Christmas there and I can't wait!!
Drinking: lots and lots of La Croix. I'm officially obsessed.
Reading: The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin.
Wanting: all the new food blogger cookbooks--Seriously Delish, Homemade Decadence, Top with Cinnamon, & Date Night In.
Watching: Parks and Rec. I love Amy Poehler and really want to read her new book.
Listening: to the song "Married Life" from the movie Up. Sob.
Eating: chili leftovers and leftovers from this soup I made it for Adam earlier in the week. He wasn't feeling well and specifically requested it. I think it's one of our all time favorites.

Wishing: I had more hours in the day.
Enjoying: hot tea and candles in the evening. They make me feel cozy.
Loving: Saturday afternoon drives with Adam.
Hoping: I get to see more of old friends in the next couple months.
Needing: more of this fantastic arugula, pear and goat cheese salad with pomegranate vinaigrette that my friend Steph brought to dinner Friday.

Feeling: sooo excited about the new blog logo and thankful for my sister who helped me install it.
Wearing: this comfy and pretty sweatshirt.
Noticing: how beautiful the leaves are.
Bookmarking: this overnight pumpkin spice cinnamon roll loaf and this green-lentil soup with coconut milk and indian spices.

Would love it if you'd share what you're making/drinking/reading/wanting/watching/listening/eating/wishing/enjoying/
loving/hoping/needing/feeling/wearing/noticing/bookmarking this week!

Best Ever Turkey Chili

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 medium green pepper, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb ground turkey (I used 15% fat)
5 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
pinch of cayenne powder
pinch of red pepper flakes
1 28oz can tomato puree (sauce)
1 28oz can diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1 12oz can beef broth
1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 can black beans, drained and rinsed
juice of one lime

suggested toppings: shredded cheese, avocado, sour cream, tortilla chips, cornbread, hot sauce

Directions: 
Add olive oil to a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and saute for 5 minutes or so or until turning translucent. Add green pepper and cook for another 2 minutes.  Add minced garlic and ground turkey. Increase heat to medium high and cook until turkey is browned, stirring frequently.

Add chili powder, cumin, cayenne, and red pepper flakes. Stir and cook 1 minute.

Add in tomato puree, diced tomatoes, brown sugar, oregano, paprika, and beef broth.

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Let simmer for 45 minutes or longer. Before serving, add kidney beans and black beans and heat through.  Turn off the heat and add the lime juice. Taste and add salt, chili powder, cumin, or cayenne as needed.

Notes:

• This chili could easily be made in the crockpot. Just cook the meat separately first and then add everything to the crockpot. Cook on low for 7-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours.
• This recipe is for turkey chili, but you could of course substitute ground beef. This recipe also doubles well. Sometimes when I double it, I use 1 pound of ground turkey and 1 pound of ground beef. 

Fresh Corn Chowder in the Crock Pot

I've been living in denial.

If I had not bought my books and had not checked my class schedule, then school was definitely not starting soon, right?

WRONG.

Law school starts in a week.

I am so not ready.

These last two weeks of summer have been really busy, (what happened to slower summertime pace?) but I know they're a snail's pace compared to what life will be like this fall semester.

I know some people love fall, (sweaters! pumpkin everything! the leaves!) but right now I feel like I'm just waiting to get hit by a bus. A bus filled with cold weather, lonely nights studying, long days in the library, dreadfully heavy law school books, and stresssssssss.

I'm being a downer, I know. 

I'm so fortunate to have this opportunity, and many others would love to be in my position. I also have met some really beautiful, fun, and inspiring people in law school, and I'm excited to see their faces on a more regular basis. 

So basically, I just need to get over myself, right? 

I just want to have a better handle on this working hard/getting a lot done everyday thing without feeling like a total failure every time I don't finish enough things on my to-do list. Or read enough pages. Or study enough. Or exercise enough.

Enough. Enough. Enough. I want to remember that I'm enough, no matter what I accomplish in a day.  

I know I'm not alone in this struggle, and the book The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown has helped me a ton. Anyone else have advice on feeling enough? Any recommendations for staying sane during a really busy season? 

One thing that keeps me sane is loving on my person, and one way I show my love for Adam is by cooking for him every Thursday.

Thursdays are when he flies home from New York. He gets in around 8:30 or 9:00pm after working 12-14 hour days and staying in a hotel room alone and eating take-out every night. My hope is that when he opens the door to our house, he smells dinner waiting, and feels at home and loved.

During this busy week, I knew the homemade Thursday meal also needed to be (1) something unique and fresh so I could blog about it and (2) easy to prepare since I was working all day and needed at least some natural light to photograph it.

This soup fit the bill perfectly. It's fresh and summery with all the vibrant veggies, and it's easy to  prepare thanks to the crock pot.  You can also add a ridiculous amount of bacon and cheese and be really happy with yourself.

Serve with some crusty bread and a green salad for a perfect late summer/early fall meal.

Have a blessed week, friends.

Fresh Corn Chowder in the Crock Pot

Ingredients:
5 ears of fresh corn, with kernels carefully removed with a sharp knife
1 medium red pepper
1 medium orange pepper
1 large sweet Vidalia onion
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, minced
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk (I used 2%)
salt & pepper
3 green onions
3-5 slices cooked bacon, diced
1 cup shredded Monterrey Jack cheese


Directions: 
Combine corn kernels, 2 corn cobs, peppers, onion, vegetable broth, chipotle pepper, and bay leaf in a crock pot. Cook on low for 7-8 hours.

Remove bay leaf and corn cobs. Turn heat to high. Microwave 2 tablespoons butter in a small bowl until melted. Add 2 tablespoons flour to the melted butter and stir vigorously with a spoon until no lumps remain. Ladle in some broth from the crockpot into the butter/flour mixture. Continue stirring until mixture thickens and no lumps remain. Continue same process with 3 more ladles of broth, then add flour/butter/broth mixture into soup.

Add 1 cup milk and salt and pepper to taste. At this point, if you want your chowder to be thicker, you can use an immersion blender to blend some of the soup, or transfer a couple ladles of soup into a blender or food processor.

When soup is heated through, you can either add the onions, bacon and cheese and cook until cheese is melted, or you can set them aside as toppings for people to add to their soup. Your choice!

Notes: 

• To make gluten-free: Use gluten-free flour or nix flour all together.
• To make more rich: Use a combination of half and half or heavy cream with the milk or replace entirely. 
• To make vegan: Use vegetable broth and vegan butter & milk. And no bacon or cheese, obvi. 

Inspired by The Pioneer Woman.

Kale and Potato Soup with Spicy Turkey Meatballs

Have you survived the polar vortex? 

More importantly, have you survived the first full week back to school/work? 

I majorly procrastinated on a pro-bono project I was working on over winter break. I also agreed to baby-sit the night before classes started. These two things probably contributed to the fact that on Wednesday night, after only 1 day of class, I had a minor meltdown after looking around at the 3 loads of unfolded laundry, towering stacks of dirty dishes on the counter, and infinite number of pages to be read by the next day.  Not to mention the numerous cover letters that need to be written so that I can afford to buy groceries this summer. 

Is anyone else this behind/overwhelmed/stressed-out already?

Pasta e Fagioli with Kale

I like slow Sunday afternoons like today,

with some stew simmering on the stove

and some slow dancing in the kitchen with my love to this song.

I think Sunday stew is going to become a regular around here. 

Sunday afternoons/evenings can be stressful and a little sad for me, both with dreading the week of school work ahead and the prospect of Adam leaving to drive back to Charlotte on Sunday night. 

But, there's something about inherently relaxing about chopping vegetables, watching them meld with broth and tomatoes and spices, then breathing in the rich aroma that seeps into every room. 

With all the things of the world that I cannot control, this is one thing that I can. One good thing I make with my own hands. It calms me when my brain gets full of worry and "what-ifs."

This is Italian comfort food, the kind of thing that Italian peasants ate hundreds of years ago.  Pasta e fagioli means pasta and beans. Here, most people actually pronounce it "pasta fazool," which is how you'll hear it referred to in that iconic Italian love song That's Amore. ("When the stars make you drool, just-a like pasta fazool, that's amore.")

My dad calls it beans 'n greens, and I've been eating some variation of it for a long time.

My favorite version is from an authentic Italian restaurant in Myrtle Beach called Umbertos that my family has been going to for the past fifteen years.  My dad even insisted on taking my grandmother there before she passed away. 

It's simple to make at home, and forgiving in the way that most soups are. Throw some vegetables,  broth, and spices in a pot and let them simmer until they become a whole that is somehow greater than the sum of its parts. It's Sunday [soup-day] magic.

Wishing you some peace this afternoon, friends.

Pasta e Fagioli with Kale 

Ingredients:
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 carrots, peeled & chopped
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp basil
1 tsp rosemary
1 bay leaf
2 cans cannellini beans
1 quart chicken or vegetable broth
2 cans diced tomatoes
1/2 cup red wine
1 cup dry macaroni*
1 bunch kale, de-stemmed and chopped
1 cup water
salt & pepper
Grated parmesan cheese, for serving.

*You can use any kind of pasta you like. I tried gluten-free brown rice pasta this time, and it turned out great!

Directions:
In a large dutch oven, melt butter and olive oil. Add in onions and carrots. Cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until carrots are slightly soft and onions are translucent.

Add garlic and cook another minute. Add thyme, basil, rosemary, bay leaf, beans, vegetable broth, tomatoes, and wine.  Bring to a boil and then let simmer for 25 minutes.

*At this point, you can proceed with the next step to add the pasta and kale, OR you can let the soup simmer on the stove on low for an additional hour or so, and then add the pasta and kale about 10 minutes before serving.

Add in macaroni, kale, and 1 cup water and cook for an additional 8-10 minutes. Taste, and add salt and pepper as needed.

Adapted from Marshall's Abroad

Moroccan Chickpea Stew

Since the title of this blog is “Stew or a Story,” I knew I eventually needed to whip up a stew recipe, and seeing as stew-eating weather may be on its way out soon, now seems to be the ideal time.

I’m also obsessed with butternut squash and am intent on cooking and eating it as much as possible before it goes out of season.

Enter this stew: Moroccan chickpea.

I usually decide to make a certain recipe after a moment of inspiration. I read a recipe in a magazine or on a food blog. I browse through a cookbook or a co-worker mentions something she cooked last week.

This past week I had the idea of making a stew, but I hadn’t started looking for recipes.

Then, Thursday morning, totally out of the blue, an idea popped into my head: Moroccan Chickpea Stew. I hadn’t seen the recipe anywhere. I’d never eaten anything like it before.  I wasn’t even sure it was a real dish. 

A quick google search confirmed that it was, in fact, a thing. I found a couple different promising recipes here, here, and here, and took bits and pieces from each one to meet my vision: flavorful, veggie-loaded, and crock-pot accessible.

Though I’ve never cooked Moroccan food before, I have eaten it a couple times. It’s usually made in a tagine, a dome shaped ceramic dish that bakes for hours and allows all the steam and liquids released during cooking to drip back down into the food.  When I think of Moroccan food, I think of a big pot of flavorful hearty stew, served family style, with people reaching across the table to grab a spoonful or swipe a piece of bread through the mixture. This is my kind of thing.

Unfortunately, I do not own a tagine, but I do own the next best thing. A crock-pot.

I love my crock-pot. I feel a little embarrassed admitting that, because I know they are not exactly bastions of gourmet cooking.  However, they make food that is delicious and easy, and sometimes on a busy week night, they make a homemade dinner possible.

My crock-pot did not fail me with this stew. Long and slow cooking is the key to this recipe. The medley of spices and flavors is unique but not overpowering, and eating a bowl of it fills you with comfort and warmth. 

Adam is away for the weekend, so I've been home alone. Yesterday it was snowing/hailing/raining on and off all day, so this stew was the perfect thing to cuddle up with on the couch.

Today I went to a yoga class, and half-way through the instructor played the audio for this story about the love of an older couple. I bawled my eyes out. Luckily, it was a hot yoga class, so I was already drenched in sweat and I don't think anyone noticed the tears streaming down my cheeks.

When looking for the link to share with you guys, I heard the video again, and again, I cried.  I'm crying a little bit thinking about it right now. Friends, watch the video, maybe make this stew, and tell someone you love what they mean to you.

Moroccan Chickpea Stew (In the Crock-Pot)

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil (optional)

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 cup diced carrots

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium butternut squash, peeled and chopped into small cubes

½  tsp ground cinnamon

¼  tsp crushed red pepper (use more here if you like things spicy, or even substitute with cayenne)

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp garam masala

¼  tsp tumeric

½  tsp coriander

½ tsp curry powder

1 (14.5-ounce) can chopped tomatoes
1 (14.5 ounce) can fire roasted tomatoes

3 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed well

4 cups vegetable or chicken broth

1 teaspoon sugar

salt and pepper

Directions
Optional--Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and carrots and saute until the onions begin to turn translucent and carrots are slightly softened and browning. Add in garlic cook 1 minute more. If you want to skip this step, just throw everything in the crockpot. Precooking the onions will just draw out a little more of their flavor!

Add vegetable mixture into the crock-pot, along with the butternut squash, spices, canned tomatoes, chickpeas, vegetable broth, sugar, salt and pepper.

Cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 6-7 hours.

Before serving, remove 2 cups of chickpea mixture and mash with fork or potato masher. Return to pot. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

This would be delicious served over rice or couscous, or, as I ate it, with plenty of crusty bread for dipping.  Also, this recipe makes a LOT. (for not a lot of money!) I will probably end up freezing some of it to enjoy later.

*On a side note, I know this is a long list of spices. If you don’t have them all and don’t want to buy them, I would say the essential ones are the cinnamon, cumin, and curry.