It's a drizzly, dreary day. Perfect day to make a tasty soup.

I buy Publix (store brand) brown lentils. They don't require soaking
(lentils aren't *beans*) and they don't tend to fall apart or ever turn
into mush unless you cook them for hours on end. They only require
about 20 minutes to cook but the brown lentils can withstand an hour or
even three on low heat. Fortunately I know when to turn the heat off
and when to add more liquid.

I always add chopped spinach to my lentil soup. I use frozen chopped
spinach. Thaw it and squeeze out the excess moisture. My tip: use a
collapsible vegetable steamer. Put the thawed spinach in and close it
up and squeeze out the liquid over the sink. Some folks may chime in
and say they use a cloth to squeeze out the water... then you have extra
laundry to do.

The soup is ready and just needs to be heated up a bit. And I'm
thinking (due to the recent bacon thread) I might actually want to add
some cooked crumbled bacon to the first bowl.

Jill

On Friday, August 2, 2019 at 5:48:28 PM UTC-4, jmcquown wrote:
> It's a drizzly, dreary day. Perfect day to make a tasty soup.
>
> I buy Publix (store brand) brown lentils. They don't require soaking
> (lentils aren't *beans*) and they don't tend to fall apart or ever turn
> into mush unless you cook them for hours on end. They only require
> about 20 minutes to cook but the brown lentils can withstand an hour or
> even three on low heat. Fortunately I know when to turn the heat off
> and when to add more liquid.
>
> I always add chopped spinach to my lentil soup. I use frozen chopped
> spinach. Thaw it and squeeze out the excess moisture. My tip: use a
> collapsible vegetable steamer. Put the thawed spinach in and close it
> up and squeeze out the liquid over the sink. Some folks may chime in
> and say they use a cloth to squeeze out the water... then you have extra
> laundry to do.
>
> The soup is ready and just needs to be heated up a bit. And I'm
> thinking (due to the recent bacon thread) I might actually want to add
> some cooked crumbled bacon to the first bowl.
>
> Jill

What a coincidence. I had lentil soup with spinach for lunch yesterday.
Split red lentils, cooked all to hell, and whole-grain bulgur. I garnished
mine with a pinch of sumac powder.

Cindy Hamilton

On Fri, 2 Aug 2019 17:48:21 -0400, jmcquown >
wrote:

>It's a drizzly, dreary day. Perfect day to make a tasty soup.
>
>I buy Publix (store brand) brown lentils. They don't require soaking
>(lentils aren't *beans*) and they don't tend to fall apart or ever turn
>into mush unless you cook them for hours on end. They only require
>about 20 minutes to cook but the brown lentils can withstand an hour or
>even three on low heat. Fortunately I know when to turn the heat off
>and when to add more liquid.
>
>I always add chopped spinach to my lentil soup. I use frozen chopped
>spinach. Thaw it and squeeze out the excess moisture. My tip: use a
>collapsible vegetable steamer. Put the thawed spinach in and close it
>up and squeeze out the liquid over the sink. Some folks may chime in
>and say they use a cloth to squeeze out the water... then you have extra
>laundry to do.

Add the entire package of frozen spinach to the soup, why squeeze all
the nutrients down the drain... it's soup, soup is mainly water.

>The soup is ready and just needs to be heated up a bit. And I'm
>thinking (due to the recent bacon thread) I might actually want to add
>some cooked crumbled bacon to the first bowl.
>
>Jill

That soup would be good with some parm.

On Sun, 04 Aug 2019 09:32:16 -0400, wrote:

>On Fri, 2 Aug 2019 17:48:21 -0400, jmcquown >
>wrote:
>
snip
>>
>>I always add chopped spinach to my lentil soup. I use frozen chopped
>>spinach. Thaw it and squeeze out the excess moisture. My tip: use a
>>collapsible vegetable steamer. Put the thawed spinach in and close it
>>up and squeeze out the liquid over the sink. Some folks may chime in
>>and say they use a cloth to squeeze out the water... then you have extra
>>laundry to do.
>
>Add the entire package of frozen spinach to the soup, why squeeze all
>the nutrients down the drain... it's soup, soup is mainly water.

snip

good point, I was thinking of when the spinach is put in something
like a dip or casserole.
Janet US

On 8/4/2019 9:32 AM, wrote:
> On Fri, 2 Aug 2019 17:48:21 -0400, jmcquown >
> wrote:
>
>> It's a drizzly, dreary day. Perfect day to make a tasty soup.
>>
>> I buy Publix (store brand) brown lentils. They don't require soaking
>> (lentils aren't *beans*) and they don't tend to fall apart or ever turn
>> into mush unless you cook them for hours on end. They only require
>> about 20 minutes to cook but the brown lentils can withstand an hour or
>> even three on low heat. Fortunately I know when to turn the heat off
>> and when to add more liquid.
>>
>> I always add chopped spinach to my lentil soup. I use frozen chopped
>> spinach. Thaw it and squeeze out the excess moisture. My tip: use a
>> collapsible vegetable steamer. Put the thawed spinach in and close it
>> up and squeeze out the liquid over the sink. Some folks may chime in
>> and say they use a cloth to squeeze out the water... then you have extra
>> laundry to do.
>
> Add the entire package of frozen spinach to the soup, why squeeze all
> the nutrients down the drain... it's soup, soup is mainly water.
>
Sorry, but I don't consider water from thawed spinach to be nutritious.
It's water from the freezing process. The lentils were cooked in
chicken stock.

>> The soup is ready and just needs to be heated up a bit. And I'm
>> thinking (due to the recent bacon thread) I might actually want to add
>> some cooked crumbled bacon to the first bowl.
>>
>> Jill
>
> That soup would be good with some parm.
>
That's a good idea. I've got a block of parmesan cheese and the next
serving of soup will likely get a boost from some I've freshly grated.
Thanks for the idea. I know you don't like bacon so it wouldn't be
something you'd add.

Jill

On Sun, 4 Aug 2019 14:32:03 -0400, jmcquown >
wrote:

>On 8/4/2019 9:32 AM, wrote:
>> On Fri, 2 Aug 2019 17:48:21 -0400, jmcquown >
>> wrote:
>>
>>> It's a drizzly, dreary day. Perfect day to make a tasty soup.
>>>
>>> I buy Publix (store brand) brown lentils. They don't require soaking
>>> (lentils aren't *beans*) and they don't tend to fall apart or ever turn
>>> into mush unless you cook them for hours on end. They only require
>>> about 20 minutes to cook but the brown lentils can withstand an hour or
>>> even three on low heat. Fortunately I know when to turn the heat off
>>> and when to add more liquid.
>>>
>>> I always add chopped spinach to my lentil soup. I use frozen chopped
>>> spinach. Thaw it and squeeze out the excess moisture. My tip: use a
>>> collapsible vegetable steamer. Put the thawed spinach in and close it
>>> up and squeeze out the liquid over the sink. Some folks may chime in
>>> and say they use a cloth to squeeze out the water... then you have extra
>>> laundry to do.
>>
>> Add the entire package of frozen spinach to the soup, why squeeze all
>> the nutrients down the drain... it's soup, soup is mainly water.
>>
>Sorry, but I don't consider water from thawed spinach to be nutritious.
>It's water from the freezing process. The lentils were cooked in
>chicken stock.

It's probably partially water that was added artificially to increase
weight and profit.