Soup to Share

I told a friend of mine recently that I was starting a blog.  She immediately asked if she could make a request, and of course I said YES.  She asked if I could PLEASE post some of my family recipes. I often makes big pots or platters of delicious things that I share with friends and family - invite me over and you will see!  In recent months, I have started making soup - it's hearty, budget friendly and goes a long way.  The recipe below is inspired by a pot of soup my grandmother made for me when I went to visit her in the winter of 2000 (she lives oversees and each of my trips is filled with delectable surprises).  Try the soup out and enjoy. Be sure to let me know if it worked for you!

Red Lentil Soup

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

3 celery stalks, chopped

1 large tomato (or 2 roma tomatoes) chopped

1 teaspoon ground cumin (add more or less depending on your taste preference)

1 tablespoon chicken soup powder

Salt to taste

Garlic powder to taste

3 bay leaves

2 cups red lentils

10 cups of water

  

Directions:

In a pot over medium heat, heat oil and add onions and celery and sweat until the onions become glossy, then add tomatoes, spices and red lentils. Add a bit of water to deglaze the bottom of the pot, then the rest of the water.  Turn the heat up to high and bring to a boil.  Once it starts to boil, put the lid on, and lower heat to simmer, approx 30 minutes. At this point, the lentils will start to breakdown and turn white/cream colored. For a thicker soup, simmer longer on lower heat.  Be sure to taste, to make sure the lentils have softened, and adjust spices to your liking.

Enjoy!

Networking...

Networking is a great way to stay in touch.  Maybe you attend professional referral meetings (you know the ones where everyone stands up and talks about themselves all in the pursuit of clients) or maybe you are social and go to lots of cocktail parties, or just maybe you simply like to spark up conversations with the person sitting next to you at your child’s baseball game. Whatever it is you are doing, if it involves a conversation, it probably also involves networking.  I know when I need something, I tap into my network – be they friends, colleagues, family or facebook friends, I turn to them for the most meaningless to the most meaningful of things – plumbers, doctors, manicurist – name it and I’ve probably asked around about it.  Yes, this is also a word of mouth process, but it only happens because I have a network! So, next time you’re at that cocktail party and you think you may just be there for a glass of wine and a fun time, take a look around.  I’m sure you’ll notice networking at its best – either really subtly or very obviously (like the time I insisted my real estate agent friend meet my mortgage broker friend). Most importantly, networking keeps you in touch, be it to your industry, your hobby or some other passion, enjoy and partake because you never know when you’ll need that network! 

Thinking About It

So I've been thinking about blogging for a while.  Will people read it?  Or is it just a public forum for my personal diary?  Do I really have anything important enough to share that I should BLOG? Well, I suppose, it doesn't really matter. Rather than over-thinking and over analyzing, I'm just going to do it and see what comes of it - not as a personal diary or as a public display on private things, but as a way to simply Keep In Touch and see where it goes.  If it's not for me, then I will simply STOP.