Slump-busting soup

The other day I was slumping around the house after a few days of not-so-hot eating habits, bemoaning the fact that I "had nothing to eat" in the fridge. Yeah, right.

I may not have had any frozen meals, junky snack foods, or leftover portions from previous dinners staring me in the face, but I had more than enough ingredients at my fingertips. I can't remember what led me to my Google Reader, or whether I searched for a certain term or just happened upon this post from Cook, Pray, Love, but that is immaterial now. The point is, I was inspired by the ingredients in this soup and got off my duff to make my own version. You can see the original recipe at the site I linked; it gave me a great start that I otherwise would not have thought of. Lame, right? You'd think by now I'd be a pro at throwing this, that, and the kitchen sink together. Ha.

How I Made My Curried Lentil Soup
inspired by Cook, Pray, Love

First I sauteed half a chopped onion, garlic (2 cloves), celery (2 ribs), and a big carrot in some olive oil. When the onion looked softened, I added curry powder (1 1/2 teaspoons) and cumin (1 teaspoon), then stirred in green lentils (1/2 cup), chickpeas (1/2 cup), water (3 cups?) and chicken stock concentrate, and some quick-cooking brown rice. Once it came to a boil I turned the heat down and covered it while I went to clean up after my run. The rice took 35ish minutes to cook, which was just perfect for the lentils, too. I tasted a bit of everything and added a dash more curry and cumin, as well as salt and pepper to my liking.

At the last minute, I thought I'd really put my veggie intake over the top for the day, and crammed in several cups of fresh spinach.

One sliced lemon (2 wedges for me, thanks) and a sprinkling of grated provolone later, I sat down to my lovely, hearty, made-from-nothing lunch. Don't you love my Polish Pottery soup mug? I used to work at a gourmet cooking store and PP shipments were *big* news. And big bucks. I got mine at TJMaxx on clearance. :D

I ate leftovers for two more lunches in the days following, and even convinced The H to take a portion to work. But I didn't tell him it had curry powder in it (surprise, H!) because 1) he thinks he doesn't like it and 2) he had a cold that day and likely couldn't taste anything anyway. He said it was good, so he was either lying to spare my feelings (which he doesn't usually do regarding food, or he knows he'll be stuck with it again), couldn't taste it, or really did enjoy it. I'm telling myself it was a combination of the last two.