Lentil Soup

On my last trip to the market, I picked up some red lentils. At the time, I didn't have a plan for them but today I decided to make soup with them. Soup in the middle of June seems crazy, but I was in a mood. I used a recipe from the All Recipes website: LLentil Soup. I didn't have enough or even any of some of the ingredients so I decided to "wing" it, resulting in a highly modified recipe. It didn't turn out too bad, but it was very bland for my pallet. It was good with a couple of slices of whole wheat bread. I think I'll freeze most of it and re-season it later.

Experiment 1

Needing lunch one day, I thought on the Portabella mushrooms sitting in my fridge and decided I needed to use them. I had already had one package thrown away because I didn't get around to using them, so I hated to waste this one. Then I remembered the wonderful hash browns and veggie omelet of my college years from Louie's cafe in Baton Rouge. These were quite honestly the most amazing hash browns I have ever had (Eat your heart out, Waffle House!). I knew there was no way I could match the ones from back then, but I had found some inspiration. I had some small red potatoes, so I got my chopping board and got to work. I ended up making a pretty tasty skillet hash with the potatoes, mushrooms and one egg. Served with a small piece of French bread and it definitely filled me up for lunch! And it only took about 15 minutes from the first knife stroke to the first fork full entering my mouth.

Skillet Hash
6 petitte red potatoes, diced small
half of a large portabella mushroom
some of the "Trinity" (Creole seasoning made from finely chopped onions, peppers and celery)
Dill weed, salt, pepper to taste
olive oil to sauté
1 large egg

Heat the oil in a skillet then add the potatoes. Add a couple spoon fulls of the Trinity. Use a cover to trap the heat and cook the potatoes throughly, stirring occasionally (This sort of fries the potatoes a little). When the potatoes are starting to get a little brown on the edges, add the mushrooms (and more oil if needed). Stir frequently, but also employ the heat trapping powers of the lid occasionally. Add the seasoning and egg when the mushrooms seem close to done (I should have cooked mine for a tiny bit longer). Stir to scramble the egg and mix all parts together. Serve hot with toasted French bread.

Experiments in cooking

I have decided to undertake learning how to cook. I don't necessarily mean techniques, because I can figure those out. What I'm talking about is the art of taking some random ingredients and producing something wonderful for the body and soul. And it's not about trying new recipes either, as I can do that easily. I want to learn the creative aspect of cooking, that skill of being able to pull stuff from the pantry or fridge and KNOW that you can make something with them. My husband has this skill somewhat, but despite my Home-Ec teacher of a mother, I am extremely intimidated by the kitchen. Or rather, but figuring out "What's for dinner?" Now, I can bake like the dickens, but COOKING is a whole other story.

Here I'll document my successes and failures. Sometimes I'll be trying a new recipe, or maybe I'll be throwing something together "From scratch", but either way my goal will be to use as little in the way of processed ingredients as possible.

I'd be happy to hear from anyone else trying their own cooking experiments.