Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Lentil soup w/ Parmesan Cheese #recipe and #book #giveaway

From Avery aka Daryl



To promote my upcoming release of DAYS OF WINE AND ROQUEFORT, I'm doing a book giveaway today. See below for details!


I know the country has gone through an amazing winter so far, and there’s more COLD to come. Ugh. So sorry for all of you who might have suffered thus far.

When I lived in Connecticut and was facing shoveling snow and “lovely” (read: messy) slushy/cold/icy walks with my dogs, I wanted warm food. For breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Because soup is an iffy prospect for a celiac at a restaurant (most chefs use wheat flour in their roux), I rarely order soup out; therefore, I make it at home a lot. I have some good soup cookbooks. One of my favorites is from William and Sonoma. It has a great mushroom soup recipe in it. I also browse magazines for new soup recipes.

However, honestly, I can’t remember where I found this recipe for lentil soup. Sorry. My mind this month is a blank. I’ve been so overwrought with writing a book that’s due February 1st and doing PR for my two upcoming releases in February and March, not to mention having a new puppy in the house and constant houseguests since Thanksgiving, I’m simply blank when it comes to anything that is not essential.

I cooked it; we devoured it. I’m simply not sure where I got it.

But I’m going to share it anyway because, for those who know me, it’s been tweaked, which means it is not exactly like the recipe from which I must have borrowed. I certainly couldn’t have concocted this one on my own. LOL





LENTIL SOUP WITH PARMESAN


Ingredients:

(serves 6)

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
2 carrots, peeled and chopped (1/2 cup)
2 celery stalks, chopped (1/2 cup)
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 teaspoons salt
10 grinds of a peppermill
1 ½ cups diced tomatoes (14 ½ ounce can)
1 pound lentils (about 1 ½ cups), uncooked
8 cups chicken broth (gluten-free for those who need it to be so)
2 teaspoons dried thyme
2/3 cup dried elbow pasta, uncooked (gluten-free for those who need it to be so)
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese


Directions:

In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Ad the onion, carrots, and celery. Add the garlic, salt and pepper and sauté all until the vegetables are tender, 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes (with their juices). Simmer until the tomatoes evaporate a tad, about 5 minutes. Add the lentils and stir. Add the broth and stir. Add the thyme and bring mixture to boil over high heat.






Cover and simmer over low-low heat until the lentils are tender, about 30 minutes. Stir in the pasta. Simmer until the pasta is cooked, about 8 minutes.

Ladle the soup into six bowls. 



Sprinkle generously with Parmesan cheese. Serve hot.



(Reheats great!)


What's your favorite cold-weather meal?


                                      * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Giveaway: Leave a comment with your email in order to enter the giveaway! REMEMBER TO INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL so I might notify you. AND if you tweet or share on Facebook, tell me in your  comment and you'll be entered TWICE.

I'm giving away your choice of one of the first four Cheese Shop mysteries or FINAL SENTENCE, the first in the Cookbook Nook mysteries. Plus some fun swag!


**********************************


Also…I and three of my blogmates, Meg, Sheila, and Lucy are offering a giveaway on Facebook with books and more, in anticipation of all of our releases the first week of February. The contest runs through January 31st. Click the photo below to check it out.



* * * * * * * * *
Lastly, remember to sign up for my mailing list/newsletter
There's going to be a launch giveaway on February 1!

******************


Friend Daryl on Facebook
Friend Avery on Facebook
Follow Daryl on Twitter
Follow Avery on Twitter
Follow both of us on Pinterest
Check out our website.

Next up: 
Days of Wine and Roquefort 
Feb 2014, preorder here

                    Inherit the Word 
                     March 2014, preorder here

If you haven't done so, sign up for the mailing list 
so you can learn about upcoming events, releases, and contests! 




51 comments:

  1. I had never met a lentil until I saw Julia Child cook them on The French Chef (baked with sausage--I've long since substituted kielbasa). But you're bang on--they make a nice hearty soup for a cold winter day. (See me avoid shoveling snow!)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Avoid the snow. Nothing worse than shoveling it. Playing in it? Fine! Love it.

      Daryl / Avery

      Delete
    2. Someone else who loves Kielbasa! I make Jambalaya for dinner when hubby is away working, the boy and I love it and he takes the left over for work. It's just a mix but I use Kielbasa instead of regular sausage or chicken or shrimp, it's his favorite. :)

      Delete
  2. Yum! Toasty down to my toes.
    Best wishes on all your new book children.
    libbydodd@comcast.net

    ReplyDelete
  3. There's nothing like a great grilled cheese sandwich when we're freezing in MN! I've had them for breakfast, lunch, dinner and in-between this winter. We haven't had that much snow but lots of below zero temps and killer windchills.

    Shared on Facebook.

    kpbarnett1941[at]aol.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Karen, thanks! The temps across the nation have been brutal. I'm shivering in spirit with everyone. And wishing you all warmth.

      Daryl / Avery

      Delete
  4. I just made a big pot of 10-Vegetable Soup last night. It's so cold here, and a bowl of soup is the perfect dish for warming us up.

    Homemade soups and stews are my favorite winter dishes. This recipe looks delish, Daryl, and is the first lentil soup I've seen without spinach or some kind of green.

    No need to add my name to the giveaway, since I've recently won your first Cookbook Nook book! Loved it, too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Karen, sweet. Thanks! So glad you enjoyed the recipe and the book. Hope you'll check out the Cheese Shop series, too. Lots of gluten-free mentions. :)

      Daryl / Avery

      Delete
  5. I do like soup on cold days, and this one is making my mouth water. Not that we're having cold days here in Southern California.

    carstairs38@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mark, I know. 80 degrees. Drought. Hard to want soup with those kinds of temps, and yet…it's winter.

      Best,
      Avery / Daryl

      Delete
  6. Love your books and love your blogs. Thanks for allowing me to be a part of your life! Martha Franks marthajane1@hotmail.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Martha, aren't you sweet. Thank you for joining in our lives. We're so excited to have everyone join us for tasty treats and good reads.

      Daryl / Avery

      Delete
  7. This sounds good. Especially since it's cold in NJ today.
    sgiden at verizon dot net

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sandy, My son is in New York and experiencing the same weather joy you are. Stay warm!!!

      Daryl /Avery

      Delete
  8. My favorite thing in the recipe? Don't laugh, but, it's the spatula! I love it, you must smile while you are cooking using it :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. I would love this! My son and I love soup, but my hubby does not. When I have to have it, I make it and just strain my hubby's out, lol. mamamoongrrlie@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Moongrrlie, that's too funny! Husbands…got to love 'em.

      Daryl / Avery

      Delete
  10. With the temps in the single numbers, this is the perfect soup!
    grammyd01 (at) Comcast (dot) net

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Single digits. Ick. I remember many when living in Connecticut.

      Daryl / Avery

      Delete
  11. Yummy! Also think the spatula is pretty spiffy. Love your books. Thanks for writing them. Bobbipad@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Barbara. Got the spatula at my favorite culinary bookshop, Salt & Pepper books!!

      Daryl / Avery

      Delete
  12. Soup is my ultimate "go-to" comfort food! Love lentil soup and I make one that is very similar to this although I leave out the celery since hubby is not a fan! Also love homemade pea soup. Going below zero this week so I may have to put this on the menu.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Peg, too funny. My husband adores celery in soups and such. And he'll eat it when on a diet and then OD and hate celery for a month! :)

      Daryl / Avery

      Delete
  13. It's going to cool down into the upper 70s later this week here in So Cal but then back to the 80s next week. We wouldn't know how to handle the cold. But, soup is always good.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Linda, I agree. 50 is cold to people who don't know cold. :)

      Daryl / Avery

      Delete
  14. I love lentil soup and everything tastes better with cheese! It has been a bit chilly down here in southern Alabama, so soup would be something tasty! mysterygal1972@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Everything does taste better with cheese! I agree. Did you see my picture on FB with my cheese maven? Met her in person yesterday. So much fun.

      Daryl / Avery

      Delete
  15. Soup looks great. May just have to try that on a cold day, we are getting them this week. Hard to believe such amazing book writers are all together in one place. Love all of them. Love the blog too!! You ladies ROCK for sure. kayt18@comcast.net

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ah, Kayt, thank you so much. We think our readers ROCK. :)

      Daryl / Avery

      Delete
  16. OK I just drooled a lil bit... I've got everything other than the onion... Thank you for the giveaway. nerdsrgood@msn.com

    ReplyDelete
  17. Swap out vegeable broth for chicken broth and my whole family can eat it! (son's a vegetarian.) Are those dried lentils or canned? Can't wait to make it.It's cold in Illinois. Also love the spatula!
    bobntoni@aol.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Absolutely. Vegetable broth is so easy and available nowadays. I used dried lentils. Unlike beans, they cook up soft right away. No canned stuff for me (other than the boxed soup), but that's all natural, too. No gluten, either.

      Daryl / Avery

      Delete
  18. lentil soup is perfect for winter. Tasty and nutritious. Shared on facebook. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  19. I love lentil soup. The last pot I made was extra delicious when I added cayenne pepper flakes to the pot and a dollop of sour cream to each bowl.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ooh, the cayenne pepper flakes sound nice. And the sour cream. I must try! Thanks, Nancy.

      Daryl / Avery

      Delete
  20. I've been in a soup kind of mood lately and the sounds yummy. I love soup on cold days it just seems to warm you from the inside out.
    momzillasteel at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree. That warm from the inside out is so good. :)

      Daryl / Avery

      Delete
  21. It's actually ice cream. Kind of weird...

    ReplyDelete
  22. In the winter my favorite cold day meals are chili or bean soup. If it's a chili day---the colder it gets, the spicier the chili becomes. I've never tried lentils, but since I like all kinds of beans, I think I'll get some next time I go to the grocery store.

    I tweeted.

    Thanks for the drawing.

    suefarrell.farrell@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sue, I adore chili!!! I understand making it hotter, the colder it gets. Heat up the insides. :)

      Daryl / Avery

      Delete
  23. This recipe sounds delicious. I love both of these series. Homemade soup. YUM Especially with this snow and freezing temps. areewekidding@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Robyn, thanks. I adore how easy homemade soup is. A veggie soup is so easy because you can use anything in the fridge. Good luck with the freezing temps.

      Daryl / Avery

      Delete
  24. This is a great recipe. I adjust as we are all vegetarians. I use only vegetable broth and no meat in our house. Lentils are very healthy and a better source of protein then any meat. Thank you for sharing it. I adore your books . Thank you for the opportunity to win
    itsacatslife17@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Lexie! I adore the texture of lentils. Much better than beans, IMHO. :)

      Daryl / Avery

      Delete
  25. I love lentil soup. If the soup is thick enough, the cold leftovers even makes a great sandwich filling. (Sounds weird- but it's really good!)
    18LMMS@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Really? A sandwich filling. Wow. Great suggestion. :)

      Daryl / Avery

      Delete