A respite from the sugar

(... and also a brief respite from writing.)

When it gets cold, I like to make hearty soups and stews. One of my favorites is lentil soup. My Platonian ideal of lentil soup is a version I used to have all the time in college at Ocean's, a coffee shop sadly no longer in existence (I don't think I can find the bricks-and-mortar version of it, although they are still apparently selling coffee). I remember little about the specifics at this point, just that it was warm and lovely and filling. The recipe below is the closest approximation I've been able to come to this memory of lentil soup.

By the way, if you like making soup that uses mirepoix (equal amounts of chopped celery, onion, and carrots), but really really hate buying a whole bunch of celery to use only one or two stalks, Trader Joe's has a very conveniently prepackaged mirepoix. It is a life-saver, because not only is one container enough for a batch of soup (AND you don't have to spend hours chopping up vegetables because you don't feel like washing your food processor, see the previous incident with squash, but you don't have to figure out what to do with lots of leftover celery (besides eating it with peanut butter).

Lentil Soup with Sausage
Adapted from Simply Recipes and the Barefoot Contessa

1/4 cup olive oil
1 container mirepoix from Trader Joe's (okay, fine, equal parts chopped celery, onion, and carrot - probably about 1 cup of each)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound brown lentils, rinsed and picked over (I know that some prefer the de Puy lentils. I usually do, but in this particular recipe only the regular ol' brown ones will do for me)
4 cups chicken stock
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, or a handful fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 pound kielbasa sausage, cut in half lengthwise and sliced 1/3-inch thick
2 tablespoons dry red wine or red wine vinegar
salt and pepper

Heat a large pot over medium heat. Add the olive oil, and when it is warm, add the mirepoix and cumin. Cook until the vegetables are softened, stirring frequently to keep the mixture from burning. This takes about 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook a little more until nice and fragrant, but make sure to keep the garlic from burning.

Add the lentils, stock, water, thyme, and bay leaf. If you are lazy like me, you can throw the entire stalks of thyme into the pot, and fish out the woodsy stems later. Add a teaspoon of salt and some pepper, but don't go overboard at this point because you'll season the soup later (also, you don't know how salty the sausage will make the soup, so it's better to err on the side of caution now). Bring the soup to a boil, then lower the heat, cover the pot, and let simmer for about 30-40 minutes or so, or until the lentils are tender.

When the lentils are tender, add the kielbasa and red wine/red wine vinegar, and let the sausage heat through. Taste the soup at this time, and then season with salt and pepper (and perhaps a bit more red wine/red wine vinegar) to taste.

Serve warm. This keeps amazingly well, and makes enough soup for about 4-6 people. Or just one or two, if you're willing to eat it for nearly all of your meals for several days.