Lentil Soup Time

Lunch

For lunch I made a simple sandwich with Tofurkey, homemade guac, hummus, and yellow mustard. On the side I had some cucumber slices, carrots, blue corn flaxseed chips, and a pickle spear. Oh and salsa for dipping. Also, while I was at the co-op I saw that these Chai Colas were on sale so that was my excuse for splurging on them. It was so good! It tasted like a chai root beer float.

Speaking of the Co-op, while I was there I had a serendipitous run in with the coordinator of a cooking competition called Green Chef. I decided to go ahead and enter, why not?! The contest will be held on Tuesday in the Multi Cultural Center at 5:30. All I have to do is come up with a dish that uses the mystery ingredient which this year is carrots. I have to have 40 bite sized samples and I will be judged on creativity, taste, and appearance. I am so excited! My Dad and I had a mad collaborative phone sesh and bounced ideas off each other until finally deciding on a dish. No, I won't tell! It has to be a surprise till Tuesday! Don't worry though, I will documenting everything :)

I decided to get on with it and start soaking these garbanzos so I can sprout them. These will soak overnight.

Dinner

For dinner I decided to make lentil soup. I got my recipe from one of my all time favorite chefs on Food Network: Alton Brown! The only thing I did differently was that I couldn't find spice of paradise and I used more celery than the recipe called for. First I sweated the onions with a little safflower oil along with the carrots, celery, salt and pepper.
Next I added a can of stewed tomatoes, 2 quarts of vegetable broth, a pound of lentils, coriander, and cumin. I let this simmer for at least 40 minutes then blended half for a smooth/ chunky blend.
I grilled up a vegan italian sausage and tossed it right on top of my soup.
Served with the left over roasted broccoli. Dinner!!

Dessert

For dessert I indulged in a little dark chocolate coconut milk ice cream with cherries and strawberries. Yum!!! The strawberries were sweet and the cherries were tangy, both a perfect compliment to the creamy semi-sweet ice cream.
I am one tired girl. I have dishes to do (blah). But then I'm going straight to bed!

Good Night!