Lemon Lentil Soup

This week has been a whirlwind of moving trucks, interviews, and meetings. I moved into my new apartment Sunday and have been busy making countless trips to Bed Bath & Beyond and Whole Foods. I never realized how exhausting it is to stock an entire kitchen. So many things that I took for granted.

Like, ketchup? BBQ sauce? Rice? Yep, they don't just magically appear in your pantry. They aren't just chilling in the back of your fridge like they are at home, waiting for you to pull them out. You actually have to buy them. I must have gone to the grocery store five times since I've moved in with each subsequent "I forgot to buy ___!" moment. My doorman must think that all I do is grocery shop.

I finally got down to cooking my first meal a few days ago. I knew I had an entire day to myself and could think of no better way to utilize it than to dirty up my kitchen. Despite the sweltering Chicago weather, I wanted soup. To be more exact, I wanted amazing soup. Awesome soup. Mama Pea soup.

Lemon Lentil Soup

Ingredients:

4 cups carrots, peeled and chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

3/4 tsp coriander

4 cups broth

1 cup red lentils (Do not sub in brown for these! Makes all the difference!)

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

3 tbsp raw cashews (plus another cup to nosh on while cooking if your name is Liz)

1 1/2 cups chopped celery

salt/pepper to taste

Directions:

Heat a soup pot over medium heat and add oil. Add the carrots, celery, and coriander and cook until the vegetables are tender, roughly 10 minutes. Next, add the broth and lentils. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer, covering the pot. Cook for 15 minutes, or until the lentils are cooked.

Meanwhile, make your cashew cream. In a food processor, combine the cashews and lemon juice. Wash and chop spinach. If you are like me and bought the unpackaged bundle spinach that was on sale at Whole Foods, feel free to use colorful language here.

Once the lentils are done, stir in the cashew cream and spinach until everything is evenly heated. Finally, eat.

Source: Peas and Thank You: Simple Meatless Meals the Whole Family Will Love