Red Lentil Marsala Soup

Our first winter storm of the season has hit after a summer of only 0.13 inches of rain. Bummer.  Summer was fun while it lasted.  My sister came to visit from Colorado just in time for the bad weather, too.  Another bummer.  We knew it was coming so on our last day of sunny weather, we headed to the gorgeous Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge Island, just a 30 minute ferry ride away.  It is one of North America's 10 best botanical gardens, all 150 acres of it.  

It was a perfect way to begin her visit since we always have lots of sister-talk to get caught up when we see each other again.  The trails at Bloedel Reserve are listed as 2 1/2 miles but there are a lot of back-trails and view points to wander off on so we did a lot more than that.  And all the trails are immaculately maintained. 

You can choose to spend a lot of time here since there are numerous benches to sit on and we often did that to take pause of all the natural beauty.   There is also a gorgeous reflection pool and a Japanese Tea House with Zen Garden.  We just loved it.    

Our weather has now turned into soup season here.  I made lots of good food during my sister's visit since eating is always a big part of our entertainment - I'm not going to lie!  I made my favorite Clean Cream of Mushroom Soup which my sister had not had before, along with some munchies of Herbed Spiced Nuts and Macadamia Nut Clusters.  (I made several batches of those two!)  This Red Lentil Masala Soup is going to be another one of my favorite soup recipes.  I'm always happy to find a recipe that uses kale in it because I don't really like kale that much but it is so healthy to add to your diet.  So, this recipe certainly does the trick with it's addition of kale.    

This recipe is from my Hannah Freese, RD collection.  My sister also follows Hannah's program so we had lots to talk about on that topic, too.   In fact, she's the one to told me about The Freese Method.  Three of my sisters are following her program now so it's basically turned into a family affair.

This recipe also has turmeric in it which has anti-inflammatory properties that is good for me and for my goal of following an anti-inflammatory diet.  Hannah's recipes address this issue so well which is why most of my recipes are now from her collection.  I never want to go back to being a chronically, inflamed person!  If your weather has turned into soup season, this recipe will be one of your favorites, too.  Go ahead and enjoy the rain outside.  A big bowl of Red Lentil Masala Soup will soon drown all your tears of another summer gone by.  

Serves 4

1-1/2 Tbsp. olive oil

1/2 cup red onion, finely diced (I use sweet Walla Walla onions)

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. turmeric

1 Tbsp. garam masala

1 tsp. sea salt

1 cup cilantro, finely dieced

4 cups vegetable broth

3 cups diced tomatoes

1 cup red lentils

1 cup organic coconut milk, canned, full-fat

4 cups kale leaves, finely sliced

1. Heat olive oil in a large stock pot over medium heat.  Add the onions and sauce for about 4 minutes or until translucent.  Add in the minced garlic.  Sauté for another minute.

2.  Add in the turmeric, garam masala, and sea salt.  Stir for a minute or until spices are well mixed.  Add in the cilantro, vegetable broth and diced tomatoes.  Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer.

3.  Add in the dry lentil, cover and cook for 15 to 20 minutes.  Once the lentils are cooked through, add in the coconut milk.  Stir all to mix, then add in the kale.  Stir again until the kale is wilted.  Turn off the heat.  Ladle into bowls and enjoy.