Ginger, Carrot and Red Lentil Soup

So I have been following some other food blogs. Ok I would not necessarily call mine a food blog yet....but if I ever learned how to catalog things by recipe type and season etc then maybe.

Anyway, the blog is http://www.dailyunadventuresincooking.com/
I made cinnamon rolls from there but they were not so great.
This soup however was/is FANTASTIC. Nichols - I give it an A+ and Tom agrees.

It is super simple and takes 30 minutes to cook about ten minutes to make.

Things you need to make this: (and let me tell you...I would immediately double it!)
5 big carrots
1 tablespoon (or more) of ginger - from a jar or grated and peeled
1-2 teaspoons of garlic (I didn't measure)
1 cup of red lentils
handful of cilantro
some cheese (for garnish)
4 cups of chicken or veggie broth (I used both!)
Salt and pepper
1 T of olive oil
3 scallions
1 lemon

How to make this recipe:
1. Peel and grate all of your carrots.
2. Peel and grate your ginger (or scoop from a jar)
3. Peel and mince your garlic (or scoop from a jar)
4. Chop scallions
5. Heat a big pot over medium heat. Add olive oil and swirl to coat.
6. Add ginger, garlic and scallions. Stir for 1 minute.
7. Add grated carrots, salt and pepper, red lentils and all of the broth.
8. Bring to a boil and then simmer on low for about 30 minutes.
9. Add a bit more salt and pepper.
10. Squeeze one lemon into the soup and stir
11. Scoop into bowls and add some chopped cilantro leaves and a little bit of cheese (we used mozz...because that was all we had)
12. EAT

Oregon Trail

So I was lucky enough to spend the weekend in Oregon almost cost-free thanks to Tom's wonderful company Equator. We drove down Friday evening and arrived around 10pm. We grabbed a bite to eat and a beer. I had a delicious blueberry beer - although it was from Maine and not Oregon.

Saturday morning Tom and I walked to a place called Mother's for a delicious breakfast - although in our opinion, the hollandaise sauce was WAY too thick. The lox and imported bagel from New York City was delicious though. Then we drove out to Dundee to see one of Tom's coworker's houses. He was situated just outside the city limits, and had about 9 acres. There was a llama, two sheep, a bunch of goats (one was a hermaphrodite!), a mummified cat that they had found while redoing the house, and three pigs (which have since been slaughtered). The house was really cool, and they were RIGHT next to vineyards. From there we got some snacks and headed for some wine tastings of Oregon's famous pinot noirs.

We tasted at one place, then headed to another and ate our lunch of bread and cheese and salami. Then one more place in a small town advertising next weekend's Rocky Mountain Oyster Fest. The non-Americans in the group had no idea what they were! We stopped at a local brewery called McMenamins in a small town which was adorable and we sat on the roof. It was 90 degrees outside which made me very happy.

Eventually we wound our way back to Portland and had an ok dinner at a place called Higgins which was right near our hotel.

Sunday we got up early and ate at the hotel (Heathman Hotel). The breakfast was actually quite fantastic. Then we drove on 26 to the coast. We stopped a few times to see giant trees and forestry machines of old. Then we got to Ecola State Park and walked a bit, but it was rainy and windy and cold. We at lunch at a D- type of restaurant called Lumberyard and then I headed on my long drive back home.

Oregon was BEAUTIFUL! I can't wait to go back and explore more.

Pictures can be seen at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/amyhodgman/OregonTripWineCountryAndTheCoast?feat=directlink

Saturday in Seattle

We had a great Saturday.

We had planned to do a hike about an hour and a half north of the city, but we scrapped it because it was a teeny bit drizzly and cloudy, so we would have had no views. Bob and his wife Eileen (Bob is Tom's brother Dan's good friend from home) came over for blueberry pancakes and they brought some DELICIOUS bacon (which we made in the oven...it was great that way). We ate those and Bob basically decided for us that it wasn't worth it to leave the city. I'm not sure if I actually agree...because I don't care as much about the views as just about getting out and walking around.

We ended up going to Carkeek Park. We tried walking one trail but it was very overgrown and there were spider webs everywhere!!! This place is over run with spiders and I hate them. So we went on a different trail and walked around. Harper had a ball and we ran into a very friendly golden who tried to join our pack, and a puppy that was adorable. We took a picture in a giant hollowed out tree....I'll post it when I upload it.

On our way back from the hike/walk we saw a place on the side of the road: http://www.jensenssmokehouse.com/

We did a U-turn and went inside. They were super super super friendly and let us try all the different smoked salmons. We bought two (Red King and White King..I think they were called). We also bought some smoke pepper jack cheese. Then we came back to our place and ate MORE! We also added some Mt. St. Helens Goat cheese from http://www.soundfood.org/sfcommunity/sflocalfoodblog/34-port-madison-goat-farm-and-dairy.html

and some sourdough bread from the farmer's market. Yummy lunch!

Tom and I fought off taking an afternoon nap. Instead we computered and did some errands and then read. Eventually we decided to venture to REI to use up our wonderful gift cards. We only got mildly lost on the way there. Maybe we added 10 minutes to our time because we drove by the baseball field when a game was about to begin (oops). We got a water filter, a suitcase for us to share for now..later we will add a second, a map of where we want to go hiking/camping next weekend, a book on hikes to do with dogs, a pair of running shorts for Tom, a National Forest Pass, and an REI membership. YEAH to people who bought us the gift cards because they helped us out a LOT!

We made it home somewhat tired, but instead of succumbing to eating out, we buckled down and made some yummy peanut noodles with chicken and mangos!