Sorry for the break! I was in Chicago for a week. I'll be back soon with some highlights from the trip and ideas for visiting Chicago yourself. In the meantime, food.
One of the best treasures I found in Chicago was a Moosewood Cookbook published in 1977. On the inside it has an inscription dated 1986 (a Christmas present). The book is hand lettered by the woman who put the whole thing together, Mollie Katzen, and it is gorgeous. I'm in love with it.
"All wholesome food is caught without a net or a trap." - William Blake
A little background info on Moosewood (if you're not interested, skip to the recipe below): I first heard of Moosewood from my aunt who is not necessarily a vegetarian but cooks a lot of delicious vegetarian food. She shared a Moosewood black bean soup recipe with me that I've made several times because it's so yummy. The following is from the Moosewood Cooks
website:
Moosewood, Inc. is a collectively owned business with nineteen
members who share responsibilities and participate in the various jobs
necessary to run what has grown from a very small natural foods
restaurant to become a larger and more diversified company. Most members
of the Collective have worked together for at least 15 years, and some
since the restaurant’s inception in 1973. The restaurant is further
staffed by a talented and dedicated group of employees whom we truly
appreciate and without whom we could not operate.
With our emphasis on healthful natural foods cuisine, Moosewood
Restaurant has operated successfully for thirty-eight years and has been
acclaimed as a driving force in the world of creative vegetarian
cooking. Moosewood was named one of the “thirteen most influential
restaurants of the 20th Century” by Bon Appétìt magazine. We started in
an era when many alternative businesses began, and we feel incredibly
grateful to have endured, thrived and had a positive impact.
It's really hot in Texas right now, so not your normal soup weather, but the fiance (that's right, fiance) had dental work done and requested something easy to eat and I was dying to try something from the Moosewood book. Below is a photo of the actual page, and the recipe is typed after.
Lentil Soup
Begin this soup in the morning - it should simmer all day. Makes 4-6 servings.
Simmer, covered, 3-4 hours.
3 cups raw lentils (rinsed)
7 cups water or stock
2 tsp salt
Steam or saute in butter. Add to the lentils after they've simmered for 3-4 hours. Continue to simmer on low heat.
2 tsp minced garlic
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup minced celery
1 cup chopped carrots
Add to soup about 30 minutes before serving.
lots of black pepper
2 tbs dry red wine
2 tbs lemon juice
1 1/2 tbs molasses or brown sugar
1 tbs wine vinegar
Sprinkle extra vinegar and freshly-chopped scallions onto every serving.
How it worked for me: I used water not stock. I used brown sugar not molasses. I think I had the heat too high in the beginning because my lentils were starting to cake up on the bottom and there wasn't any more water to simmer with only two hours gone by. I was afraid the lentils would burn, so I turned the heat off and then added the simmered carrots, etc.
Verdict: The end product was delicious. I definitely want to try it again with the full 3-4 hours simmering to see if it's even better. The extra vinegar added on top of each serving might be my favorite part.
Check out the Moosewood
blog for more vegetarian recipes!
