We may be socially isolated, but that doesn’t mean we can’t make new friends. Let me start!

Hi, CIA DISH! I’m Laura, and I am the editor here. You might come to recognize my voice (at least, my written one) throughout the recipes and posts on this site. I’m a graduate of the CIA, and though I studied Baking & Pastry while I was a student, in my subsequent years working in our publishing department and recipe testing kitchen, I’ve been lucky to learn my way around the savory kitchen, thanks to our amazing chef instructors.

I’m introducing myself now because I think we could all use a little bit of friendly chatter, and for me, friendly chatter usually ends up being about food—specifically what I’m cooking, eating, or hope to be cooking and/or eating in the near future.

Like you, most of what I’m eating these days is coming out of my home kitchen. Though I’m lucky enough to live in Austin, Texas, where restaurant owners are very creatively finding ways to continue feeding the community, I’m mostly subsisting on my pantry and weekly grocery deliveries.

Of course, my pantry is no longer as well-stocked as it normally is, and with shortages everywhere, I rarely get everything I order from the grocery store (and sometimes, I receive surprising substitutions! Though I’m grateful with each one for the people who are doing the shopping on my behalf.). This means cooking breakfast, lunch, and dinner is a creative exercise.

I know that all of you are likely facing the same issues: shortages of your go-to foods and the frustration of figuring out what to do with the ingredients you do have.

That’s why, until we can all go back out to eat tacos and barbecue (or whatever regional specialty you’re missing the most!), I’m going to share with you some of the meals I’m preparing in my own kitchen. I’ll include tips and opportunities for variations, substitutions, or wish-list additions (will I ever have greens again?).

Now that we're all acquainted, do you want to see what I had for dinner last night?

I make some version of this easy Lentil Soup pretty often. It’s my husband’s favorite, and I always have a ton of lentils in my cabinet. I usually add sausage, but I love a vegetarian version, too.

Last night’s soup made a nice big batch—definitely enough for a few dinners and some to freeze. I used:

Ingredients for lentil soup: onion, carrot, lentils, thyme, garlic, sausage, and broth

Ingredients

  • 1 lb Italian sausage
  • 1 to 2 tbsp olive oil – any neutral cooking oil, butter, or schmaltz would be fine.
  • 1 medium yellow onion, chopped (about 2 1/4 cups) – any color onion is fine, as is shallot or leek.
  • 2 cups chopped carrots (from 2 big nice carrots plus about 4 old skinny carrots) – I don’t often peel my carrots for soups and stews, but some of my carrots were old and a little sprouted, so I did peel them this time. Don't be afraid of sprouted carrots, they'll be fine.
  • 6 cloves garlic
  • 2 tsp dried thyme -- I wish it was fresh, so use that if you have it. Also, you can also use rosemary, marjoram, oregano, or an herb blend, like Italian seasoning, if that’s what you have.
  • 2 cups French (green) lentils, picked and rinsed – yes, you can use other lentils. The cooking times will vary, and red lentils will get much softer.
  • 2 quarts (8 cups) broth – I used the braising liquid from my St. Patrick’s Day corned beef that I froze and defrosted. It was tasty! But you can use chicken broth, beef broth, or vegetable broth.
  • Salt and black pepper, to taste
  • Balsamic vinegar, to taste

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Put the sausage on a baking sheet and bake until fully cooked, about 20 minutes. Slice into coins and set aside. You can use bulk sausage here, and I actually wish I had. Next time, to save the dirty baking sheet, I would take the links out of the casings and just cook them in the pan before adding the onion, carrot, etc.
  2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large saucepan or soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and carrot and cook until softened, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and thyme, and cook just until fragrant, about 1 minute.
  3. Add the lentils and broth and stir to combine. Cover and cook until the lentils are tender, about 30 minutes. For soup, I like my lentils to be a little soft, but you can cook them a little less if you prefer them to hold their shape better.
  4. Remove from the heat and add the sausage. Taste and season with salt and pepper, as needed. Ladle into bowls and drizzle with balsamic vinegar before serving.

The finished soup is definitely more delicious than it is beautiful, but lentils aren't really prized for their glamour.

Lentil Soup with sausage and carrots

Some more notes:

  • If you don’t have sausage, you can add some pancetta or bacon at the beginning of cooking, or stir in shredded chicken, cooked shrimp, or smoked seitan at the end. If you have sausage, but not Italian sausage? Use it! If you have none of these things, you won’t miss it.
  • I almost always stir in some thinly sliced or torn greens at the end. A big handful of baby spinach, Swiss chard, or escarole are some of my favorites. I haven’t had a green in a few weeks, though, so not this time.
  • The balsamic is not essential, but it gives the soup a little extra depth of flavor, which I’m all for.
  • If you don’t have enough broth OR if you’re not up for proper soup, half the broth quantity for stewed lentils. You can serve them topped with a runny egg for a great little dinner.
  • Add some ginger, coconut milk, and garam masala or other curry blend to make a very loosely interpreted mulligatawny.