insomniac theater

currently listening to: damien rice, o

i guess its not that insomniac-y anymore, since this (5am) is a normal time for people to get up. not me, but people like the people who take the bus and truck drivers and stuff. but i've been up since 3. i broke a stupid glass (yes it was stupid. why else was it on the sink ledge? i am crabby and refuse all blame) when i went to pee and then i had to clean it up and by the time i was done, i was wide awake. so im kicking it and thought i would post the soup recipe, as promised. times like now i wish i had nintendo.

meow, i did try to measure for this because i said i would but it's annoying and i'm impatient, so i only measured the stuff that i thought really mattered. i would just say to all the people who think they need exact amounts that they should relax, or google a recipe. err on the side of caution when adding more stuff but the awesome thing about soup is that if you overdo something you can just add water and make more soup. so just try stuff.


This takes about an hour start to finish, but can be sped up if you're starved.

Here's what you need to get at the store:

Lentils, 1 bag.
Onions
Garlic
Jalapeno, 1 fresh
Better than boullion paste. Don't get the cubes, it is *not* the same. It comes in a little jar, and is in the soup aisle or the spice aisle, depending on your store.
Frozen veggies- get what you like. Adam and I buy bags by the dozen so we always have a selection, but if you're not ready to commit like that i'd say at least get 1 mix bag (carrots, peas, corn and lima beans), one bag of CHOPPED spinach, and chopped broccoli (the little little pieces)

Optional extras:
Barley
instant mashed potatoes
rice or something

Stuff I'm assuming you have in your spice rack:
spices (at least a few of these: parsley, cumin, oregano, salt, black pepper, thyme, bay leaf)

Get a pan out.

Chop the onion
chop the garlic
chop the jalapeno.

Put it all in the pan. wash your hands. WASH YOUR HANDS. jalapeno in the eye hurts like a motherfuc*er. wash the cutting board and the knife too, and wash your hands again. seriously. when you get it in the eye, think of me, i understand your pain.

Put 8 cups of water, less bouillion stuff than they say to, 1 bay leaf, 1 chopped onion, the jalapeno, chopped up (i use the seeds and all, it's totally your call) a bunch of garlic (whole cloves, chopped, minced, all of the above- use a lot, it gets very sweet when you cook it in soup, and it's good for you), 1 cup of lentils, and some spices in a pan. don't use more than 1tsp of cumin, or thyme. those 2 are things that it's bad when you use too much of. pepper, parsley, garlic etc are things i think you would be hard pressed to ruin something with. put this conglomerate on high until it boils, then lower it to simmer or you'll blow out your lentils. now go away for 30 min or so. why don't you do some dishes or something?

when you come back, taste your stuff. it should be delicious. if it's not, add some more stuff. if it's delicious, add the veggies and turn it up to medium. 20 minutes and soup's on.

If it's cold out or this is your lunch and you're hungry, throw some instant mashed potatoes in your bowl, it thickens the soup up enough to make it feel like a meal. Barley's good in it too, but never use more than 1/4 cup- seriously use WAY less than you think you should. That should be added when you first start everything, it takes like 45 min to cook.