Saturday, March 14, 2009

Slow-Cooker Lentil Soup with Quinoa, Kale & Fresh Ginger

Everyone hates getting sick, and I'm no different, having come down with a sore throat that has progressed to a cough. Just lovely! But often, I think we get sick precisely so we can appreciate what it's like to be healthy. Like anything in life, it all depends on how you look at it, and usually, I think of sick days, the ones where you sit around in your PJ's all day watching daytime television you would usually never subject yourself to, give us a chance to take a time out from our hectic lives. Of course, it's better if we can do that without needing to be sick to take a day off work or have a night with no social commitments, but few of us would ever slow down otherwise.

So even though my boyfriend, Kuzak, and I are both on injured reserve today, much to my puppy, the Adorable Monster's, chagrin, that's no excuse to eat bad food! We all know how great a bowl of hearty soup tastes when you're under the weather. When I know I'm not feeling great, I often throw a big crock pot full of soup on first thing in the morning. That way, with minimal effort, there's something healthy to eat all day long that will help me get better faster! (At least I think it will!) This morning, I settled on making a classic lentil soup. It's fast cooking, hearty, and full of protein when paired with a grain. I also decided to add quinoa, an ancient high protein grain. To juice up the health factor, I chopped up some kale. Finally, to season the broth, I used fresh ginger, tumeric and cumin.

The resulting soup was positively divalicious, even by my standards. The flavors blended beautifully, making this a great winter soup, full of protein, fiber and vitamins. The fresh ginger infused the broth with a ton of spicy flavor, and the cumin and tumeric gave it even more character. Not to mention, using my crock pot, it was a cinch to make. I highly recommend trying this recipe. It's great for lunch, or filling enough to be eaten for dinner. So hopefully you won't have to get sick to have an excuse to try this recipe out!!

Note: If you don't own a crock pot, this could be made traditionally on the stovetop. Just begin by sauteing onions, carrots and celery in olive oil before adding the other ingredients.

"Hey Diva, if you're not gonna give me a big walk,
can I at least try some of your soup?"
-The Adorable Monster

Domestic Diva's Slow-Cooker Lentil Soup with Quinoa, Kale & Fresh Ginger

1 1/2 cups lentils
1/2 cup quinoa
2 carrots peeled and chopped
2 celery stalks chopped
1 garlic clove chopped
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp fresh ginger minced
2 cups kale chopped
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp tumeric
4 cups vegetable stock
4 cups water
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Throw all the ingredients together in the crock pot. Turn it on and allow it to cook, covered, for several hours until the lentils and vegetables are cooked through.


Salt and pepper to taste. Told you it was a cinch! Enjoy.


2 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing the easy to follow recipe. Looks so delicious.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you for checking out the site!!

    xoxo
    The Diva

    ReplyDelete