French Lentil Soup w/ Potato Finnish Bread (in French accent): fruit and veggies Monday.

Hi y’all!

What a crazy hard fork (or soft knife) that was. My husband and I had Steemit withdrawal symptoms for a full week but now that we are good and re-charged (rested), we are rip, roaring, ret (ready), to go.

I always look forward to Monday’s and checking out everyone’s #fruitsandveggiesmonday recipes, so of course today is no exception- thank you @lenasveganliving for always doing a fantastic job as the hostess and keeping Monday’s fresh and fruity :)

I have quite a collection of recipes sitting in my arsenal stacking up since we’ve been on ice but picked, what I think to be, the perfect recipe for the start of a new week and a new and improved platform.

French Lentil Soup w/ Potato Finnish Bread

First of all, can we talk about that Potato Finnish Bread @jasmink put up last week…? That stuff looked so good, so easy, I was making soup anyway and best part, I had the ingredients so thought “let’s rock and roll”! I made them the same night I copped the recipe… just sayin 🤷🏼‍♀️ “Finnish Bread is nom nom nom nom”. Thanks @jasmink for the stellar inspiration.

I set out like any other soup prepping night but this time had my heart set on using my newly acquired Herbs de Provence. I think the name speaks for itself- I’m about to get fancy with it (in my best French accent).

Your start up might look something like this, but let yourself be flexible… I think I snuck in green onions, freshly chopped tomato and whatever else I had on hand that I thought would taste good.

Ingredients

1 onion (chopped)
4-5 carrots (chopped)
2 tomatoes (optional/chopped)
4-5 stalks green onion (chopped)
3-4 garlic cloves (minced)
2 Tbsp Apple cider vinegar
1 Cup lentils (I used green)
1 Can chopped tomatoes
1 Tbsp Herbs de Provence
5-6 Cups vegetable broth
Sea salt & pepper to taste

Of course I begin by sautéing the onion until nice and fragrant. Usually my hubby will say something like “that sure does smell good in there”. I suppose frying onions can make anyone smell like they know what they’re doing in the kitchen.

I prep chop my carrots while making @dandays salivate, at the now, aroma of success which fills the house. Then mince the garlic and get ready for the smelly trifecta.

Did you think the smelly trifecta was going to be like poop? Well you were wrong… it’s the onion, garlic and herbs de provence, which obviously is said in French accent because it’s italicized…duh.

At this point, add all of your spices, the carrots, and a couple tablespoons of wine or sherry. I don’t really drink so used ACV (Apple cider vinegar) to get the same effect.

Stir everything together for a minute and dun, dun, dun… - bring on the lentils.

This is how I quickly sort my lentils to ensure we don’t bite down on a stone. I’m not sure how you do it but if it’s different then this let me know about it in the comments. I’m always looking for new Andy improved cooking hacks. (Btw, who’s Andy 🤷🏼‍♀️)

Along with the lentils, throw in the green onion, canned tomato, freshly chopped tomato and anything else your heart fancies. Top it all off with the vegetable broth and give your pot a good once around to mix it all up.

Bring the soup to a boil then lid it on simmer for about 35-45 minutes. This is also where I got jiggy with it.

A quick executive decision was made “get down on some Potato Finnish bread”. It’s in quotes because that is a direct thought from my brain- all original content. Haha…

I don’t know about you but we never have left over mashed potatoes laying around so this means I’m-a-get to mashin.

I chopped two or three, peeled and rinsed potatoes. Now I’m working against the clock so buckle up butter cup… this is how I make mashed po-tates.

Using my only other pot, which is thumbalina sized, I bring my chopped potatoes to a boil and put the lid on. The goal is to soften the spuds as quickly as possible. So about 15-20 minutes.

I got too antsy and took my tates off the flame a little prematurely. Since I only have a fork to mash them and not a potato masher I thought ‘why not use the blender to do my hard work for me’. Good thing I went to a four year college and am plagued with student loan debt for that epiphany 🤦🏼‍♀️

Having added almond milk, sea salt, pepper and garlic powder the spuds turned out perfectly. It’s amazing I was able to refrain from scarfing them. If you want to know how to make the Potato Finnish Bread click on @jasmink ‘s hyper link. Super nom, nom, nom, nom.

By the way, I used gluten free flour and my bread turned out great. Right about now my husband is asking what I’m up to in the kitchen. Maybe it’s because I had flour all over my face and the counters… don’t judge me… I’ve never made bread before.

I also made the mistake of putting the dough in the oven on top of wax paper. I had a feeling the paper wouldn’t do well in the oven but the smoke that filled my kitchen confirmed it. “No wax paper in the oven, only parchment paper- which is the real stuff”… noted!!

After a quick switch to foil and a few space maneuvering adjustments, 15 minutes later and we are in business.

Taadaa! Potato Finnish Bread, nom, nom, nom 😋.

I sprinkled a little herbs de provence on half the batch to match their soup counter part. I think it worked out well.

Needless to say, @dandays, was a happy camper and the soup wasn’t too shabby either. Haha… Thank you @jasmink for the inspiration!

Now I didn’t mean for the bread to steal the show but that’s what happens when you remain flexible in the kitchen- you make unforeseen magic!

Until next Monday, my fruity ba-tootie vegetable chop suey… it’s always a pleasure having you over.

Pura Vida ✌️