Simple Foods: Sweet Potato, Red Lentil and Coconut Soup Recipe

After spending most of this winter snuggled up inside in front of the fireplace, book in one hand, hot chocolate in the other, we are two weeks into Spring now and ready to face the warmer season of the year.

And what a season it will be.

Some of you already know, but I've kept it pretty quiet overall - we are adding on to our family, god-willing,  this summer.

And where long and cold days beg for warming winter soups, they are also a fine way to help cope with those early miserable days and weeks of baby growing. So we ate them, lots of them. Taco soup, chicken noodle soup, roasted red pepper soup, butternut squash and carrot soup, you name it we had it.

So if you're a soup person like me, here's an easy recipe for you adapted from here:

Red Lentil, Sweet Potato and Coconut Soup

2-3 medium sized sweet potatoes
2 red onions
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp ground coriander
olive oil
4 cloves garlic
1 fresh red chili
1/2 bunch fresh coriander (optional - our family is not a big Coriander fan)
125g red lentils
1 L vegetable stock, heated
1 can light coconut milk (400ml)
1 lemon

How to:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F
2.Peel and dice sweet potato in 1 inch thick chunks, peel and cut onions into 1 inch thick wedges. (I had baked sweet potato left over from a previous dinner and used them instead of roasting fresh ones)
3. Place vegetables on a roasting tray in one layer, sprinkle with cumin seeds, coriander, salt and fresh pepper. Roast for 40 to 45 minutes - since I had already cooked sweet potatoes, I just peeled them and roasted the onion in a pan.
4. Peel and finely slice garlic, followed by finely slicing the chili. If using, pick coriander leaves and set aside, finely slice the stalks.
5. In a large saucepan, on medium-low, heat about a tablespoon or two of oil. Saute the garlic, chili, and coriander stalks until lightly golden.
6. Add the red lentils to the pan, stir to coat well. Stir in the heated vegetable stock and coconut milk.
7. Increase the heat and gently boil, reduce to a simmer and cook lentils for about 20 minutes.
8. Once the vegetables are ready, carefully add to the saucepan, together with most of the coriander leaves.

If you have a submersion blender, blend the soup to desired thickness. I recently minimized ours, thus I transferred most of the soup to the blender and (carefully!) blended until smooth. A few pieces were left un-blended for some chewiness.
Another option is to just mash your vegetables with a wood spoon as desired. It's your soup, prepare it the way you like it :)

9. Lastly, squeeze in some fresh lemon juice and season to taste.

Enjoy!

This soup is also on my list for nursing friendly soups. More on that topic very soon y'all!

Live Loved!



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Let all your hearts...

... prepare for Him. We've been humming merry tunes over here and I'm also taking some much needed time to focus on family these days. Follow along on Insta to check in with us. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Simple Food: Holiday Butter Cookies

If you've seen my Instagram lately, you know we've been baking up a storm in this house. Whisks are whirling, spoons are spinning, peppermint is filling the air, and honey has been melting on our tongues. Mouthwatering scents of fresh out of the oven cookies suffuse our home as of late. Baking has been such a joy, especially now that e is getting older and can join in on the fun.

I've had a few requests for recipes that we've been baking and here is one of them. This one is done pretty fast and easy for kids to help with. e loved using the cookie cutters {which kid doesn't ha!}. And parents - these beauties are great coffee dunkers. Just sayin'. 

Butter Cookies

Ingredients:

500g all-purpose {unbleached} flour

2 sticks unsalted butter - in pieces

200g sugar {I prefer pure cane sugar}

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla flavoring

1 lemon - zested and juiced

1 tip of a knife ground cinnamon

Icing:

1 egg yolk

sprinkles of your choice, coarse salt, or chopped almonds

Directions:

1. Combine Flour, sugar, and butter in a bowl

2. Make a groove in the center and add eggs, vanilla flavoring, cinnamon, as well as lemon juice and zest. 

3. Start kneading. I encourage doing this by hand, not with a machine. 

When done, wrap in plastic and chill for at least 30 Minutes. 

4. Pre-heat oven 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with parchment paper

5. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick

And now the fun part - begin cookie cutting.

6. Bake about 10 Minutes, let cool 2 Minutes on the baking sheet, then cool completely on a wire rack. 

7. When completely cool, brush egg yolk on the tops of the cookies and cover with desired sprinkles.

Simple Life: Handmade Christmas Decorations

Natural holiday cheer. Decorate the house a bit, invite family and friends over for mulled wine or cider and set an evening of Holiday spirit merriment. Simply done. Instructions below. Enjoy.

Popcorn Cranberry Garland

You need:

Popcorn - preferably a day old and stale {trust me}

Cranberries - only the still hard ones {trust me}

Dental Floss

a needle

Happy stringing.

Dried Oranges 

You need:

Oranges {by the bag full}

Dehydrator or oven

Slice the oranges and place in dehydrator for 24 hrs or on a baking sheet {single layer} in the oven for 2-4 hrs at 200 F

Dried Oranges and Cinnamon Ornaments

 

You need:

dried orange slices {see above}

cinnamon sticks

twine {of your choice}

My house smells delicious!

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Simple Moments

A moment that shaped last week.

We didn't have a tree {yet} so we decorated one in the backyard with our {slightly} burnt orange slices and {too soft} cranberries.

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Simple Life: St. Nicholas Day

Since I find myself in the season with young children, I thought it might be nice this year to start on a simplified version of some of the traditions from my childhood. Growing up, I have always cherished the time before Christmas (eve) with a warm heart. And now, well into my adulthood, this time from the beginning of the first of Advent until New Years', has me think of those bygone years with fond memories, as well as a hint of nostalgia. 

I'm not quite sure whether or not beginning our own traditions really will mend my always recurring wistful reflections of younger years, but never the less I'm thinking of these special rituals as a tribute to my childhood. St. Nicholas being one of many for this last month of the year. 

Nicholas was born in the 3rd century to wealthy parents in the Greek area of Patara, now southern coast of Turkey. His parents passed when he was still young. As a devout Christian, he used his inheritance to give to the poor, needy and sick. Dedicating his life to God, he was made Bishop of Myra when he was still a young man, but later also suffered for his faith even being imprisoned under a Roman Emperor. He died on December 6th, AD 343. 

One of the stories we hear of the good deeds St. Nicholas has done, is about a father of three daughters. Having no dowry to be able to marry, the daughters were destined to be sold into slavery. On three different occasions, a bag of gold mysteriously made it into their home, thrown in through a window and landing on socks that were hanging beside the fire to dry. The gold was enough to provide for a dowry, saving the three daughters from a life of slavery. 

This year, while retelling the story of St. Nicholas and the three young women, e and I washed our boots on the back steps. We placed them at the door in the evening and when she woke up this morning, she had a chocolate Santa and some chocolate coins in hers, as well as a small gift {a puzzle} beside it. {And for the curious among you, j's gift is are homemade stacking blocks from a tree in our back yard| This was a simple beginning to this tradition and as she gets older we will add more and more details to this tradition with a special meal, cleaning the whole house and the like. I don't know how close or how far apart we will be living as a family when everyone has grown up, but I hope my children will always be able to remember their favorite Christmas traditions with fond memories and maybe even build upon them with their own families in the future. 

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Grateful

Giving you a virtual pot of beautiful fall mums today. 

But what is more important than the symbolic bringing of a bouquet of flowers, I want to give a note of thanks. This year, proven to be simultaneously long and short, has helped me grow in ways I couldn't have imagined. Between the mountains and valleys of happiness and sadness that had me tumble off the side of a cliff at times, I am forever grateful for everything I have learned and the people at my side.  

I'm also incredibly thankful to all of you returning week after week to my humble space, reading my posts along with me. Your continued support is extremely uplifting, even in my troublesome moments.

And through it all, to God be the Glory. Always.

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Recipe Weckmänner

Today is St. Martin's Day. As dark cold days are approaching and I think about ways to lighten up the fall mood around here, I make a coordinated effort to move away and brighten, as much as possible, the darker days in our home. 

Here is something I have noticed while raising my children - rediscovering traditions of my own childhood and looking forward to creating memories with our own family. Legend has it, that St. Martin, a roman soldier, met a scantily dressed beggar at the gates of Amiens, asking Martin for  help. The soldier, not having any money or food to give to the beggar on this cold night, parted his cloak in two with a single swipe of his sword, giving one-half to the beggar while keeping the other for himself. It is said that after this night, Martin was baptized and left the army. 

On the days leading up to and on the night of November 11th, you can find children walking in procession through the streets with their handmade lanterns, singing songs of praise and light to St. Martin. They are led by a man on a horse, meeting at a bonfire at a public square or school yard, where the story of St. Martin is retold through a play. While the origin of the lanterns is unclear, they may have come from the bonfire, symbolizing the light it brings in a dark night, as St, Martin brought a flicker of hope to the poor at his time. 

The night singing around the bonfire ends with hot chocolate, mulled wine, and Weckmänner. Growing up receiving and enjoying a Weckmann was always a memorable end to our evening. For e and j's Weckmänner below, I used a Hefezopf recipe {if you're German, click here)} I followed the recipe very loosely, with the main exception that instead of braiding the bread I formed four little men. And I used all purpose flour with great results.

Weckmänner

Ingredients 

{I encourage you to weigh the ingredients if possible as it yields better results}

500g all purpose flour

1/2 tsp vanilla flavoring

1 envelope dry yeast {the German recipe calls for 18g fresh yeast which would be better}

200 ml cold milk

75g sugar 

2 eggs

2 egg yolks

90 g butter, softened

1 tsp salt

1 tsp lemon juice {original recipe calls for lemon zest}

Directions

1. Place all ingredients in a kitchen aid type bowl, knead all ingredients on low about 10 minutes, then up the speed and continue kneading for an additional 5 minutes

2. cover the dough and let rest/rise 1 hour

3. divide dough into 4 equal parts, cut your arms and legs using kitchen shears or preferred tool

4. brush the men with egg, add your face and buttons, cover with foil and let rest another hour

5. bake in preheated oven 350 degrees F for 35 minutes. 

6. enjoy while still warm with fresh butter and jam

What about you? Do you have St. Martin's Day traditions?

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How to Preserve Leaves for Decorations

On these days when the last of the leaves are turning and slowly making their way to the ground, fall colored decorations keep my spirits up. Especially the ones we collected in the woods and took home.

My favorite part of fall are the vibrant colors. Whether set against a deep blue sky or gray clouds, they are a beautiful reminder that we are moving from a season of dark green trees with an air filled with heavy humidity and insects calling late at night, to one of crispy cold days and silent nights that feel extra dark. Now that time change has passed and it gets dark before dinner time, it doesn't matter whether or not you participate in Halloween, Michaelmas, or even celebrate Thanksgiving, adding a few fall colors to your home is worth a try to cheer up the home. 

The best way to add some fall colors is to go for things you can toss guilt free after the season. I'm thinking dried oranges and cinnamon, apple cider simmering on the stove, pumpkins, gourds, corn husks, and homemade leave decorations. As a bonus, they are also budget friendly.

Preserving Fall Leaves

You need:

Vegetable Glycerin

Surfactant 

a heavy book

newspaper or wax paper

paper towels

fresh or already dried leaves 

Directions

1. Gather the leaves of your choice. I used both fresh and already dried leaves for this project. 

2. Fill a large bowl with one gallon of water, add 2 cups of vegetable glycerin and a few drops (3-5 drops) of surfactant to the bowl. Stir to mix.

3. Place each fresh or dried leave in the bowl, then lay on a paper towel to dry. You want to be more careful with a dried leave as they break fairly quickly.

4. Let the leaves dry for 1 to 3 hours or longer if necessary. Then, if preferred, lay them in between sheets of newspaper before placing them in the pages of your book to dry. The newspaper is optional but if you omit it, you may run the risk of messing up your book due to the moisture that is still in them. Leave the leaves in the book for a day or longer. 

5. Once they are dried you are ready to use them for your project or as decorations. My first ones are framed and my next batch will be used for window garlands in the kids' room. 

The difference in using dried and fresh leaves is that the vegetable glycerin with the surfactant helps keep the color better than if you were to just dry them. The solution also makes the leaves soft and less delicate for projects.

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