SPICED LENTIL SOUP WITH COCONUT MILK

It is not fall in my pocket of the world. Summer is still lingering with warm ocean water, people in shorts and tank dresses and tomatoes at the farm stand. Sure there are pumpkins at the market and the sun sets earlier but those are the only telling signs the season is changing. The weather makes me crave salad and fruit, but a big pot of soup intrigued me for some emotional reason. I feel a bit drained lately, and there is something about soup that is comforting. Just a bowl and spoon. No stabbing bits of lettuce or cutting with a knife. Just simple eating. The kitchen is a place of solace for me - a place to be creative, to give, to appreciate small things, to refresh or to be pointed towards something in myself that I haven't taken the time to recognize. And in this case, that awareness came from wanting to make a pot of warm soup on a 97' day. I knew when I saw this soup on The Travelers Lunchbox that I would make it and like it. At first taste, it seemed all the spices didn't marry, but after a bit of sitting in its own goodness, my mouth was filled with warmth, spice, a bit of heat and lentils just tender to the tooth. I garnished it with some toasted coconut because I'm a sucker for a nice garnish, but this is certainly optional. The recipe makes a good portion of soup, which is not inconvenient because it is actually better the next day. So, maybe you're wearing a sweater or maybe you're still in shorts, but soup is never a bad idea.

SPICED LENTIL SOUP WITH COCONUT MILK // Serves 6

Recipe adapted from The Travelers Lunchbox who adapted it from Once Upon a Tart

The recipe calls for green lentils. I used a mixture because I have a large amount of them and they worked just fine. Split or red lentils will likely get too mushy here. I used 4 cups broth because I like my soups on the stewy side, if you prefer more broth to you soup, add another cup or two when cooking the lentils.

1 1/2 cup lentils, rinsed (green suggested)

4 cups low sodium vegetable broth

1 1/2 tsp. tumeric OR curry powder

2 tsp. dried thyme or 1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves

1 Tbsp. coconut oil

1 large yellow onion, diced

2 stalks lemongrass, outer layer removed, lower portion finely minced

1 tsp. sea salt, plus more to taste

1/2 tsp. cardamom

1/2 tsp. cinnamon pinch of red pepper flakes to taste

pinch of fresh grated nutmeg

1 1/4 cup coconut milk (use full fat, just believe me)

3 Tbsp. lemon, lime or orange juice

a few handfuls of swiss chard, spinach or kale

1 cup flake coconut, toasted (optional)

chopped cilantro, for garnish (optional)

Add the rinsed lentils, broth, thyme and tumeric or curry powder to a large pot. Bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes.

While the lentils cook, heat the coconut oil in a pan. Add the onion and saute until just browned. Add the lemongrass, salt, cardamom, cinnamon, pinch of red pepper flakes and some fresh ground nutmeg and saute another minute. Add the onion mixture to the lentils and stir, keeping the heat on a low simmer.

Add the coconut milk and greens and simmer another five minutes, stirring occasionally until just wilted. Taste for salt and spice and add as you prefer. Finish with the citrus juice and serve warm with toasted coconut flakes and cilantro on top.

APPLE & SMOKED MOZARELLA MINI CALZONES

My dad, sister and I have had years of battling with my mom over the stuff she hoards in the garage. If you need a treadmill, non-functioning keyboard, halloween costumes for any age group, old silverware, paint in ANY shade of the color spectrum, it is in my mom's garage. It's a treasure trove of memories, junk, and admittedly useful items that I've taken to fill up our empty apartment.

Yesterday, I came across a box of frames I had on the wall of my room in college. They were all black, in attempt to keep some aesthetic to an entire wall full of pictures. After sitting in my mom's garage for a few years, they'd gathered a thick coat of dust; I cleaned them all off, and I can recall the specific circumstances of each of those captured moments.

We are just about two weeks from getting married now, and in this crunch time, I will confess that I'm at the height of emotion, most things bring me to tears, but the pictures reminded me how full my life has been/is. Not of things, wealth, or huge success', but full of people who have loved me for the majority of my years. Pictures of me laughing with my sister back when she dyed her hair different colors every week; my best friends Terri, Shan and Brit, from a trip to Italy, noses bright pink whilst experiencing coldest day of our lives; different images with my college roomates, who have undoubtedly been the most sincere friends I've ever known; Hugh and I five plus years ago... we were a little sad to see that yes, we are aging, but the carefree expressions are the same in our most recent pictures too. He has consistently made me so happy. These pictures reminded me how wonderful it is to be surrounded by people that are easy to be around. I just love these people SO much, and the greatest part is that each of them are an active part of my life to this day.

Speaking of being filled with goodness, I bring you mini calzones. Something that may look a little standard from the outside, but has warm fall flavors inside. Just little pockets of simple loveliness, like a box of old, dusty pictures.

APPLE + SMOKED MOZARELLA MINI CALZONES // Makes 12

I have included a link to the whole wheat dough I like, but you can buy one from a local pizza place or at some grocery stores to save yourself time.

1 Whole Wheat Pizza Crust (see recipe here)

1 Yellow Onion, sliced thin

1/2 tbsp. Butter

1 Medium Apple (Honeycrisp, Fuji or anything crispy)

1 Cup Diced Smoked Mozarella Cheese

1 Cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese

Handful of Fresh Thyme

Handful of Fresh Chives

Extra Virgin Olive Oil for brushing

Dijon Mustard to Serve

Heat oven to 500'

1. Make the pizza dough according to recipe link, or if using a premade crust, let it come to room temperature.

2. In the meantime, warm the butter over medium heat in a saucepan and add the thinly sliced onion. Continue to move them every so often until they begin to caramelize, this whole process takes about 20 minutes give or take.

3. Seed and cut the apple into a rough dice. Pull of the thyme leaves, and give the thyme and chives and nice chop. Get all your fillings in order for easy stuffing.

4. Roll out the dough into a shape resembling a rectangle. You want the dough thin, but not too gentle that it will rip when you stuff and fold. Use a sharp knife to cut across, making about 3x3 inch squares. Lay them on a floured baking sheet in lines, see picture.

5. Pile your toppings in the middle of the square. I did the order of onions, apples, both cheeses, herbs and a twist of black pepper... but I don't believe it makes any difference. Gently fold one corner across to the corner opposite, and gently press and fold the open edges. Repeat with all 12 or however many you end up with.

6. Brush the top of each mini calzone with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake in the upper third of the oven for about 14 minutes until tops are crispy brown. Let them rest just a minute before eating, serve with a little dipping dish of dijon mustard.

CHEESEBURGER. ROUND TWO.

So, in case the title of this post hasn't clued you in yet, this is Hugh. Hi.

First off, I want to say thank you so much to those of you who celebrated and encouraged us in the comment field of the previous post. Your genuine excitement was an honor. I think you're all pretty rad.

Anyway, back to cheeseburgers. There's this really neat restaurant just up the freeway called The Counter. You can read about the concept behind the place here, but in a nutshell, when you walk in they give you a clipboard with a checkbox menu, and you get to draft up any one of the 312,120+ different burger options possible with the list of ingredients. Daunting. I generally burn through about three "rough draft" menus before I finally send one off to the kitchen. I came up with the following a couple weeks ago while having lunch with a buddy.

Of course, I had to call Sara with the preventative "does this make sense?" measure before I could actually order it. She said yes. So you know it's good.

BRIE AND CRANBERRY BURGER // Makes 2

If you like things with a kick, add a tsp. of horseradish to the spread.

2 Fresh Buns

2/3 lb. Grassfed Beef

1/2 Cup Sliced Scallions

1/3 Cup Dried Cranberries, soaking in hot water

4 Slices Brie/Preferably Goat's Milk Brie

2-4 Full Leaves Butter Lettuce (or any soft green of choice)

Dijon

Salt/Pepper

1. Put the cast iron skillet in the oven at 400' to heat through. This step is not necessary if you are using any other pan/skillet.

2. Divide the beef in to 1/3 lb patties, and shape them to be about 1/2'' thick. Keep in mind that they will shrink in quite a bit when cooked. Sprinkle with salt and pepper on both sides.

3. Drain the cranberries and mix with the scallions, set aside.

4. Heat the pan over medium-high heat on the stove. If it is cast iron coming from the oven, you can start working right away. Otherwise, add about 1 tsp grapeseed oil and allow it to heat up a couple minutes. Add one patty at a time, sear on one side for 4 minutes, or until you see the edges of the patty begin to brown and shrink up a bit. In the meantime, put your buns in the toaster or toaster oven. Flip the burger, and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Add the brie and let it melt a minute before you remove the burger. Test the firmness of the center of the burger to gauge it's doneness (Close your hand into a light fist, poke the meaty party between your index finger and thumb, that's about medium).

5. Cover with foil and allow it to sit for two minutes. ** This timing yields a medium cooked burger in a hot cast iron pan. Vary your timing if you prefer it cooked more or less.

5. While the burger rests, put desired amount of mustard on the buns. To assemble: bottom bun+butter lettuce+burger with softened cheese+cranberry and scallion mix+bun top. Booya.