I admit, there are days I need a lot of motivation to roll up my sleeves and take action in the kitchen to get dinner started. We recent got back from a weeklong trip to NYC and with our normal rhythm out of whack, I’ve been needing a little more push to do the normal dinner routine.
One way I’ve tried to snap myself back into motivation is to tap into the wonderful world of Youtube and the great content out there that seems devoted to passing on recipes as much as it is to get people motivated to cook. While there’s a lot of bad (IMO) content out there, I found a wonderful gem called Green Kitchen Stories. It’s filled with gorgeous food photography and all the recipes are vegetarian/ plant-based. My eyes and mouth were watering. I’m not a vegetarian, but I love my greens and this channel just might convert a carnivore to vegetarianism.
The videos did their job of convincing me that my experience in the kitchen will be filled with music, beutiful ceramic dishware and an ease that comes with having a long afternoon to slowly chop my vegetables. Far from the truth. I had at least 3 piles of laundry to do, which was urgent because for the first time ever, my 4 year old son ran out of clean underwear (SMH), aaand my toddler was about 2 minutes from waking up from his nap.
But something about it worked – my brain’s synapses were fired up (not sure if that’s technically correct, but I’m going with it) and ready to make dinner. I went on the blog to look around for some easy recipes and found a straightforward Indian lentil soup recipe on their blog.
The recipe was super easy with spices that I already had in my pantry (curry powder, tumeric powder, lentils!) and basic fresh produce that I always have on hand. I put it together before picking up my son from school and finished it off when we got home. This will definitely be in my regular dinner rotation.
Because I can use more inspiration in my arsenal, what are your favorite blogs or video channels you go to for inspiration to get in the kitchen? Leave me a comment to share!
Below is the recipe.
Recipe adapted from Green Kitchen Stories.
Notes: I love the simplicity of having soup as a meal, and this one can be filling with lentils and potatoes in them, but to round it out I served it with some pita bread and salad. I also had some crispy bacon bits and chopped up some chives to garnish.
Serving size: 4
Ingredients
2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp fresh ginger, very finely chopped
1 tbsp curry powder
1 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp ground chili or harissa (Optional depending on the amount of heat desired. I completely omitted to make it kid-friendly)
3 medium potatoes, diced
2 carrots, sliced
1 cup red or yellow lentils, rinsed (green lentils take longer to cook)
4 cups vegetable stock
a pinch of sea salt
2-3 tomatoes, diced
Prepare the vegetables. Heat the olive oil in a big soup pot.
Add onion, garlic, ginger and all the spices. After about a minute add the potatoes, carrots and the lentils, stir it around another minute before adding the vegetable stock.
Let it boil on low-medium heat for 30 minutes, stir occasionally, taste the soup and add more salt and spices if needed.
Add the tomatoes and let it boil for 5-10 more minutes. The soup is done when the lentils are dissolved. Serve with roasted pumpkin seeds and some fresh coriander. (or any other garnish you have on hand. I used some crispy bacon and fresh chives)
Looks delicious!! 🙌🏻