Smooth Carrot-Lentil Soup

It's feeling like all soup, all the time around here. The flowers may have started blooming, but it's cold, damp, and dark out -- soup weather.

Smooth Carrot-Lentil Soup

6 large carrots, sliced
1/2 cup split red lentils
1 large onion, diced
5 cups water
1 tsp ground coriander
1 scant tsp ground cardamom
1 scant tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cumin
4 shakes cayenne
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
pepper to taste

In a large pot, saute the onion in the olive oil until translucent and soft, about 5 minutes. Add the carrots and all spices except the salt, pepper and mustard; cook until fragrant, 1-2 minutes. Add the lentils and water. Bring to a boil, then simmer for about 45 minutes, until the lentils have begun to disintegrate and the carrots are soft. Puree in your new Cuisinart (or a blender). Return to the pot and stir in salt, pepper, and mustard. Reheat and serve. Garnish with yogurt or herbs.

Serves 2-4.

Quick Savory Bean Soup

This is the kind of soup to make when it is cold out, you are hungry, and you need to make soup NOW -- in half an hour or less. It's an excellent dinner when topped with cheese and accompanied by a baked sweet potato. Since the refried beans are already pureed, you end up with a silky, thick broth studded with onions and tomatoes.

Quick Savory Bean Soup

1 onion, diced
1 clove garlic,chopped finely
1 can no-salt-added diced tomatoes
1 to 2 cups water
1 can vegetarian or fat-free refried beans
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp soy sauce
2 dashes hot sauce (I used Sriracha)
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp to 1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 to 1 tsp cumin

In a saucepan, saute the onion and garlic in the oil until quite translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the soy sauce and hot sauce and cook another two minutes. Add the tomatoes, beans, 1 cup water, and herbs and spices. Turn the heat to high, and bring to a boil, stirring vigorously until the beans are well incorporated. Turn the heat to low and simmer 15-20 minutes, until the soup has reached the desired consistency. If you want a thinner soup, add more water.

Garnish with cheese, cilantro, baked tortilla strips, etc. If you have leftover spicy sauteed chicken, add that as well!

Serves 3-4.

Hamantaschen

Purim starts tomorrow night! I made a couple of batches of hamantaschen to give to our friends.

Hamantaschen

2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 tbsp lemon or orange juice
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp rosewater or orange blossom water, or 2 tsp juice
2 tsp. baking powder
3 cups flour

Fillings (i.e., jam, chocolate, prune or poppy seed if you're a traditionalist)

In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, sugar, oil, juice, vanilla, and flower water until well blended. Add the baking powder and flour and stir to blend. The dough will be stiff but somewhat sticky.

Form the dough into two disks; wrap in plastic wrap or foil and refrigerate 1 hour.

Working with one disk at a time, knead the dough a few times, until it is smooth. Roll the dough out to about a 1/8" thickness. Using a 2 inch-diameter glass, cut circles out of the dough. Re-roll the scraps until you have used all the dough to make circles.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place about 1/3 tsp filling in the center of each circle; pinch the corners to form three-cornered hamantaschen.

Bake the hamantaschen on a greased cookie sheet about 15-20 minutes, until just lightly beginning to brown.

Makes a little more than 3 dozen.

Brisket

This recipe is pretty much my mom's, although I think she uses regular onions instead of shallots. Yum! (Had some lighting issues with the photos.)

Brisket

1 brisket (about 3 lb)
1 cup tomato sauce
about 1 cup red wine
7 shallots, sliced
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place brisket in pan, fat side up. Cover with sliced shallots. Mix tomato sauce and wine together; add to pan, adjusting amounts as necessary so that the liquid comes about halfway up the sides of the brisket. Sprinkle some liquid over the top of the brisket. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil. Bake 3-4 hours, until tender.

You can slice and serve right away, but it's easier to cool the brisket overnight in the fridge, then skim off the fat from the sauce. Cut the fat off the top of the brisket, and slice thinly against the grain, and warm again in the pan with the sauce.

Serves 5-8 (really, for 8 you want a larger brisket unless you have a lot of other food in the meal).