More shameless self promotion and another recipe

I figure if you're kind enough to stop by and check out my latest work, you deserve something for your trouble. January is National Soup Month (you know these things when you write about food) so here's another soup recipe. It's a great transition recipe for going vegetarian full or part-time because it's very hearty.

Curried Lentil Soup

2 fat carrots, peeled
3 leeks, cleaned
1 large brown onion
½ package green lentils, picked over
Handful kosher salt
2 tsp. black pepper
2 tsp. garlic powder (or 1 Tbsp. crushed garlic from jar)
3 Tbsp. curry powder

Prepare the lentils:

If you have one of those colanders meant to rinse rice, use that. Otherwise, pour the lentils into a bowl, making sure there aren’t any rocks mixed in.

Run cold water over the lentils until the rinse off water is clear. Leave the wet lentils soaking up moisture will you prepare the rest of the soup.

Prepare the broth:

Fill a large soup pot two-thirds full of water and put on the stove to boil.
Add the salt, pepper and garlic to the water. You can add a dash of olive oil if you like (but not butter).

Chop the carrots into coins. Peel and roughly chop the onion. Chop the white part of the leeks into disks. Note: leeks are sneaky vegetables. They tend to hold silt in their tightly packed layers. You might want to peel back the first layer to make sure they’re free of grit.)

Add the vegetables to the broth. Allow to boil for about 10 minutes, then add the lentils and the curry powder. Cover the pot and reduce heat. Simmer until the lentils are tender, stirring occasionally.

Enjoy.

And now the self-promotion part. My story, "Nine Ladies Dancing" is now up at Dark Valentine Magazine's "Twelve Days of Christmas."

My next story out there will be "Corazon," number 668 at A Twist of Noir. It's going out to Christopher this week. Stay tuned for promo on that and who knows? Another recipe.