30% Chance of Rain & Lentil Soup

I'm so very thankful that there's only a 30% chance of rain. I'd like to think that that means at some point today, the rain will let up. Last week, the laundry was on the line for three days before getting enough continuous sun to actually dry the soaked and re-soaked clothes. As small as the house is, I'm beginning to wonder if I couldn't string a line across the kitchen. 

Today is a very rainy day and in July, I've got few classes to occupy my time.  It doesn't feel like the balmy 80 degrees that the weather forecast seems to think it must be. There's nothing quite like the pitter patter of rain on the eaves and palms outside the windows to make you feel nostalgic and crave  soup. 

Looking around the kitchen for inspiration, hmm...no onions, and the ginger root appears to have died a horrible death. This may be more complicated than I thought. Not to worry, Post Punk Kitchen to the rescue! Okay, the truth is that I didn't have all of the ingredients or a pot that is big enough (they called for a 4 qt, I have a 2qt), but all in all, their recipe for Smoky Tomato Lentil Soup with Spinach and Olives was a great base for what actually happened. In fact, I think that what I ate was much closer to what they intended than I usually manage, when following a recipe.  

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil  √  This is an approximation, right?
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced ...err, no. Unspeakable decay happened to the last of our onions, although it made a happy home for a baby gecko.  I'll substitute a cup and a half of diced chives from the um...chive garden. (We've only got chives and clover in our garden)
3 cloves garlic, minced  √  I threw in a 4th for good measure, after all, garlic makes everything better, and helps round out the flavor when you're short on vegetable broth or really trying to make the bouillon last longer.
1 teaspoon dried thyme  √  Wait, it said "tsp?!" I took that to mean, "a few good shakes". 
2 tablespoons sweet smoked paprika...sigh, I don't have this beautiful spice, but I do have paprika. 2 tablespoons of regular, American, grocery store bought paprika are a bit much. I started with 1.5 tbsp
1 cup dried brown lentils (or green lentils) √  Truth told, I used 1.5 cups, because how soupy is this supposed to be??
5 cups vegetable broth √  I assume that this meant, two veggie bouillon cubes and I fill the 2 qt pan with water, remember that I added extra lentils.
1/2 teaspoon salt √  This had a recommended measurement?  I did a couple of shakes of Celtic Sea Salt, which I keep in a parmesan bottle. 
Fresh black pepper √  Yes! I ground it fresh, and appreciate that they didn't try to tell me how much to put in. I feel that I nailed this little direction perfectly! 
1 24 oz can fire-roasted tomatoes. ≈ Well, I've got a 16oz bottle of island tomatoes that I wish were fire-roasted.

4 cups fresh baby spinach  ≈ Ojala! (If only!)
3/4 cup roughly chopped kalamata olives √  Some of mine were kalamata, the others were green, and I probably only had about 1/4 a cup. 

Directions

Sauté onions in oil with a pinch of sea salt, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and sauté for 15 seconds or so, then mix in the thyme and paprika. 

Add the lentils, broth, and pepper. Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn heat to medium and cook for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lentils are  almost tender. Add the tomatoes, crushing them with your hands as you add them (unless like mine, they were already pulp). Bring to a boil, then lower heat to simmer for another 20 minutes or so, or until lentils are very tender. Add spinach (I wish I had had spinach) and olives and stir frequently until spinach is wilted and velvety. Add water to thin, if necessary. Personally, I ladled out a bowlful, then added water to the bowl and to the pot, since the pot wasn't big enough to put in all of the necessary water to begin with. 

Salt to taste, and let sit for 10 minutes or so for flavors to marry, then serve! For a stand alone meal, serve over brown rice, and add fun garnishes. I added pumpkin seeds, golden flax seeds and a dash of roasted habanero, then drizzled olive oil over it for good measure. It was delicious! 

Lucky thing, too. The power was out for most of the day, which meant not opening the fridge. As fortune would have it, I took a trip to Florida a few weeks ago and brought back our Goal Zero Escape 150 solar power battery and panels. It was charged, and able to keep our modem going for the five hours it took to get the power back. It's difficult to impress upon those who have constant utilities or back up access, how much stress that a simple backup battery can relieve, particularly when you work on line. It then becomes a question of whether or not your gadgets and computers were charged before the power went out. 

All in all, it's been a good day, against the soundscape of raindrops and the occasional thunder. It's been cool and comfortable even with clothes on, all work obligations were met by both Jon and myself despite the power being out for hours, I made a pretty yummy lentil soup, have some pigeon peas and rice to cook now that the power is back on, and I made my own laundry detergent. 

Coming soon: home made laundry detergent, pass or fail? 

Speaking of which, the rain has stopped, the locusts are buzzing, and I have laundry to hang. Perhaps one day soon, it might even dry.