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.

Food to Share: Lovely Lemon Madeleines and a Winter Picnic

We haven't had much Winter here in Nashville but lately I've found myself longing for Spring nonetheless. Perhaps it's because the weather hovers in the 50's, teasing me. A picnic on a bleary (thank you Rebekka, that is the perfect word) Sunday was exactly what I needed: to be outside, to relax, to eat delicious food and drink wine with friends. 

I went to Arrington Vineyards to share a picnic with Rebekka and Colleen. We had prosciutto and mozzarella sandwiches, brie and with crackers, and I made lovely lemon madeleines. They're lovely because, well, they're just beautiful to look at. That much is obvious. They're also packed with lots of meyer lemon zest, cornmeal, almond flour and best of all, butter!

Oh, and did I mention that I woke up to this precious face on Sunday morning? My sweet little Pixel, patiently waiting for me to get up and take her to play outside in the fog.







Lovely Lemon Madeleines
makes 18


1/3 cup semolina
1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 cup sugar
1t baking powder
3 large eggs
pinch kosher salt
1 stick (8T) unsalted butter
1T limoncello
1T meyer lemon zest

Preheat oven to 400.
In a small bowl, whisk semolina, almond flour and baking powder together. In a separate bowl, beat eggs, sugar and salt with electric mixer until tripled in volume, about 5 minutes (if you see peaks beginning to form you have gone too far!). Melt butter and let cool slightly. Pour butter and almond extract into egg mixture. Beat until combined. Add zest. Fold dry mix into wet mix with spatula until just combined. Let chill in fridge for one hour. Spoon batter into madeleine mold. Bake for 6-7 minutes at 400, drop oven temperature to 350, and bake for another 4-5 minutes.

Cookies are delicious: chocolate chip

Chocolate chip cookies. 

Licking the spoon. Waiting patiently by the oven. The smell. The feeling of warm chocolate oozing onto your fingertips as you pick the first cookie off of the sheet. It's downright nostalgic. In fact, the process of making and eating a chocolate chip cookie is the very first thing that comes to mind when I hear the word "delicious." 

Chocolate chip cookies know no bounds; they are craved during every season; the rich, the poor, the old and the young love them equally (although children are notably more open about their affection for the cookie). 

This is a recipe I made on a lazy Sunday afternoon after taking a walk around Nashville's capitol building. It is adapted from Elana's Pantry. I used almond flour for a nice, roasted flavor and agave nectar for a subtle sweetness. The dough itself isn't very sweet so I topped each cookie with a pinch of turbine sugar, which happens to make them look even more appetizing when they come out of the oven. I also used a touch of cinnamon because that is what my Mom puts in her cookies. After all, it is Mother's Day. 

I ate one cookie (for lunch, no less) and saved two for later. The rest are packed up for an office full of hungry co-workers.

I have an exciting day of shooting ahead of me; my beau is brewing a fresh batch of Summer IPA and then we are going to The Smiling Elephant for a delicious Thai dinner.  

Delicious Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 1/2 cups almond flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons cinnamon

pinch of salt (about 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt)

1/2 cup (one stick) unsalted butter (or 1/2 cup of grapeseed oil)

1/2 cup of agave nectar

1 Tablespoon vanilla

1 cup of whichever chocolate chips, nuts or dried fruit you like

turbine sugar

Mix wet ingredients and dry ingredients in separate bowls. Add wet to dry and stir. Fold in chocolate chips. Make balls (2 teaspoons is the size I used) and dust generously with turbine sugar. Bake at 350 for 7-10 minutes. As with most cookies, you will know they are done with the color of the dough changes and the top cracks every so slightly. Makes about 30 cookies.