Color is Delicious: Red Curry and Red Lentil Soup

I heard a story recently on NPR about how beans are the food of our era. It makes sense, doesn't it? They're cheap, easy to cook, environmentally friendly to grow and oh, so nutritious. And if you think they aren't delicious, you're downright crazy. Beans are one of nature's most versatile edibles. I'll be proving that to you in the coming weeks. Let's start with this fun fact: I just made the best brownies I've ever had with black beans.

So here's to eating more beans- my New Year's resolution, only four months late. You may begin with the fart jokes now.

Red Curry and Red Lentil Soup
-serves 6-10, depending on how hungry you are


1 1/2 cups red lentils
1 can light coconut milk
1 can full fat coconut milk
6 medium carrots, diced
3 ribs celery, diced
2 medium yellow onions, diced
2 oz red curry paste
1 cup water

kosher salt, olive oil
* spinach
* cashews
* lime

Toss onions, celery and carrots with oil and a pinch of salt and roast at 375 until cooked through and starting to caramelize, about 25 minutes. Place lentils, light coconut milk, curry paste and water in a large pot and cook according to these instructions. It is very important that you do NOT salt the lentils until they are nice and soft but not mushy, which should take about 30 minutes. Remove one cup of cooked lentils and blend them with the full fat coconut milk. Return the mixture to the pot and add vegetables.

* These things are optional. If you are going to use them, serve each bowl of soup over freshly wilted spinach. Adding it in while cooking will result in brown spinach. Use as many cashews as you like; I prefer raw, unsalted ones. Squeeze lime over the soup before serving if you're feeling fancy.

Tomatoes are Delicious: Tomato Soup

Whoever invented tomato soup was some kind of brilliant idiot. Honestly, it is so good to eat, but so inexplicably inefficient to make.

It boils down to this: if you have a lot of time on your hands and want to show off a bit, make tomato soup. It's certainly worth it.

I'm a soup addict. Tomato soup is the perfect summer or winter dinner. The problem with craving tomato soup in the winter is that you can't get good tomatoes! Last night, Coy and I each enjoyed our soup with cheese on top, and sparkling lemonade and a whole wheat baguette on the side. Then I put the rest in the freezer for safe keeping. I'm like the ant, always thinking ahead.

I made my soup at the very peak of tomato season. I got big, red beefsteak tomatoes and sweet vidalia onions from the Nashville Farmers' Market. I roasted them with garlic, rosemary and fennel and blended it all together with basil from my windowsill. It's like preserving the best of summer in a bowl.

Roasted Tomato Soup:
-Serves four as a meal, six as a side dish

4 1/2 pounds red tomatoes
2 small vidalia onions
1 large bulb fennel
1 head garlic
2 cups milk (I used 2%)
1 cup fresh basil
4 sprigs rosemary, roughly torn

Slice fennel and onion in 1/4 inch rounds, slice tomatoes in half and chop the top off of a whole head of garlic. Cover vegetables in lots of olive oil, kosher salt and rosemary. Roast in oven at 400 until onions and fennel are caramelized and tomatoes are soft (this could take up to 55 minutes depending on your oven and your vegetables; check them after 30 minutes, and then every 10 minutes after that). Discard rosemary when vegetables are done. Meanwhile, warm (do NOT simmer or boil) the milk with the basil in it for 30 minutes. Blend everything together (be sure to squeeze the garlic out of its skin). Strain through a fine mesh sieve. Add 1/2 a cup of remaining pulp to thicken soup.

*Note: I recommend roasting tomatoes in something shallow like a pie dish. Juice will come off of them and caramelize in the bottom. That juice is delicious! Plus it will make a mess in your oven if it drips off a cookie sheet.