Dark and Stormy

It was a dark and stormy night (and day!)….

Yeah, it’s definitely been dark, rainy and dreary today! Which makes those tornado warnings and watches that much more understandable. No complaints from me though, I think the sound of rain is one of the most beautiful, soothing sounds in the world.

Earlier today I had an un-pictured Coconut Cream Pie Larabar at work to hold me over to a mid-afternoon lunch. Lunch was a stir fry of light firm tofu, zucchini and red bell pepper with different Italian seasonings. I also enjoyed a slice of this amazing local Tuscan Rosemary Bread (vegan) that I picked up from a local store (Ward’s all you Gainesville people!). Oh my gosh, it was so doughy, flavorful and perfectly amazing.

oh so steamy

This afternoon was spent being incredibly random and exhausted. One of those times where you know that the gym would do you good but it is just taking so much effort to get there! Which is why I didn’t go! Instead, I went for a dark and rainy run with Ross (in gated neighborhoods with lights – we were safe!). We ran two minutes, walked one minute for 30 minutes total. It was awesome. Because of the intervals I got to focus more on really running (as opposed to plodding), and focus more on my form (I’ve been thinking I’m running awkwardly or something, because of strange blisters on my right foot).

I came back and got to work on the perfect dinner for a rainy night: Homemade Veggie Noodle Soup.

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large pot on the stove over medium-high heat.

Chop and sauté one small sweet onion.

Add chopped garlic (about 2-3 large cloves…love me some garlic! Watch out Edward!). I place the garlic on top of the onion, so the onion acts like a little bed for the garlic so the garlic won’t burn (as it tends to do quickly at high heats).

Throw two thinly chopped carrots into the pot.

And season with rosemary, oregano, salt (just a teeny little bit!) and pepper.

Add frozen corn and frozen peas. I added mine frozen straight to the bag and into the pot. Soup making is by no means an exact science. Use what you have and what you want. I happened to want more peas, so I added about triple the amount of peas than corn.

For a little bit of plant protein and a little more umph to our soup, I added one cup dry lentils.

Now it’s time to get it all soupy! I added about two cups of this organic vegetable broth (it was the last of the box – no exact measurements here) and probably around four cups of water.

Cook about 20 minutes, or until the lentils are tender (aka – chewable). Now it’s time for the noodles, or in this case, “southern dumplings”. We saw this at a grocery store in Alabama last weekend, and thought they’d be a fun addition to a homemade soup (all vegan ingredients!).  Basically all you do is add them to the soup, a few at a time to avoid clumping, and occasionally stir. I think after they were all added I let my soup cook another ten to fifteen minutes.

The finished product:

Mmmm, does anything beat homemade soup on a cool, rainy night? Actually, yes. Homemade soup with a side of doughy bread! I had another hunk of the rosemary bread with a shmear of hummus on top. Drool-worthy.

Delicious dinner! Plenty of leftovers too, although I’m not sure how long that bread will last in our house with two bread + rosemary lovers here.

I also sampled some of the cookie dough from the secret recipe vegan chocolate chip cookies that are up for bid RIGHT NOW! Look good? These cookies could be headed your way tomorrow! Go bid on them at the bake sale, and quick! You have 1.5 hours until bidding is closed!

Good thing I had the foresight to make a double batch. I think I’m going to join Ross in testing out a cookie….you know, for quality control purposes.