Soupy Sunday - Curry Infused Creamy Tomato-Lentil Soup

Sunday morning Chris surprised me with pink potted tulips and half of a Hershey's Cookies and Cream chocolate bar. It was the perfect Valentine gift for a girl like me. Hopefully the tulips will last long enough for me to put the bulbs in the ground in the spring. I always hate getting cut flowers because it makes me really sad when they wilt. Hershey's Cookies and Cream chocolate bars are just about my favorite candy. At about 200 calories per bar and full of white choclate-y goodness and bits of oreo-like cookie, they can't be beat.

We did not do a very good job of making a grocery list this week. Combine that with a cooking failure, we cooked something for a pot-luck that was so bad that we didn't even keep it for ourselves, and it was slim pickings at our house yesterday. After scouring the internet for some time, I adapted a Nepali soup recipe to the ingredients that we own and it turned out great, although nothing like the original recipe. We also made some Nepali bread to go with it, but I will write that off as another cooking fail.

Curry Infused Creamy Tomato-Lentil Soup
Ingredients:

• Canned Tomatoes, 3.50 cup
• Lentils, dry, 140 gram(s)
• Milk, canned, evaporated, ~ 8 fl oz
• Ground Coriander, 3 tbsp
• Ground Cumin, 1 tbsp
• Tumeric, 1.5 tsp
• Onions, raw, 1 small
• Garlic, 1 tbsp
• Cayenne Pepper, 1 tbsp
• Basil, 1 tbsp
• Black Pepper, to taste
• Salt, to taste
• Parmasean Cheese (optional)
• Sriracha (optional)

Directions:

• Wash lentils thoroughly. Place in a pot with 3 cups water and 0.5 tsp turmeric. Cook, partially covered, until very tender, about 30 minutes.
• Drain lentils.Combine lentils and 1 cup water in a deep pot. Add the tomatoes, cumin, ground coriander, cayenne, onion, garlic, salt, black pepper, and the remainder of the tumeric and bring to a boil.
• Lower heat and cook, partially covered, 10 minutes.
• Add lemon juice and evaporated milk and simmer for several minutes longer.
• Puree entire mixture in blender until smooth.
• Return to pot, simmer until thickened to desired consistency.
• Garnish with parmasean, basil, and Sriracha (optional).

Makes 4-6 servings
(Based on 6 servings) Calories ~ 157, Fat ~ 4.4 g, Carbs ~ 27 g, Protein ~ 11.6 g

This stuff was killer. We finished it all before I could even pack some up to save for lunch today. Even with his discriminating palate, Chris thought this was good enough to serve to other people!