Hope's Homestead: Lest We Forget and Lentil Soup

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

~An excerpt from Laurence Binyon's poem, "They Shall Grow Not Old"~

What does Remembrance day and lentil soup have in common? Well from as far back as I can remember, November 11th was normally cold, dreary and wet, so soup just seems to be the appropriate thing to eat. Warmed the bones and the heart. Also, it's something that you can make easily that doesn't take tremendous effort and yet it's satisfying at the end of the day.

But today the weather is glorious. I woke up to blue skies and although I knew it was cold outside as there was frost, FINALLY, on the ground. Even though the weather was nice, albeit cold, I still felt like soup. On a day when I think of my step father Bud and all the war stories he told of his years in the navy, I want to wrap myself in a blanket, eat soup and be thankful for those who gave up their lives so I could live in freedom.

Before starting my soup though, I decided to go out to the garden, one last time to salvage any remaining vegetables so I could make one last fresh juice from our garden. So with clippers in hand, out I went picking an assortment of things.

I picked kale, swiss chard, parsley, and even some lavender and also gathered some leek seeds
In the war days people were encouraged to grow Victory Gardens and these last vegetables of the season would have been precious.

So with the last vegetables form our garden, I juiced a a delicious vegetable drink with a bit of ginger

This is the stuff that helps me keep up with these little ones

D, who had been out in the garage attic, looking for skates, skis and winter boots, came in for a drink....Cheers D!

Bottoms up, Victoria and Kate


Will, who was outside helping D find skates...came in when he heard the juicer...he LOVES his green drink!

So with delicious juice in our tummies, the boys went back to the garage attic, and the little girls continued colouring, (check out the Activity Village site for great free colouring pages you can print off...there is something for every age) and I got started on my lentil soup for dinner. I wanted to get the soup made and simmering, and then head back out to the garden. The weather was really nice and since our compost bin was full, I needed to dig a hole to put our kitchen compost scraps somewhere.

I love soup. It's my ultimate comfort food and as a mom, I like how I can make it early in the day and it just gets better as it simmers on the back burner. I know we are going to eat a healthy dinner without any mad scramble at the end of the day and I can spend a good bulk of my day, doing what I love or dig into a bigger project. Literally, today I would be digging holes to put debris I couldn't cram in the compost any longer.

If you like making soup too, join me as I chop and talk. I don't need a recipe for soup, I just start with my stock pot, some extra virgin olive oil, onions, garlic and seasoning and then add what I have on hand. Here's how I'm making my soup today.

And before we get going, let's put on a song called, "We'll Meet Again." by Vera Lynn...this takes me back to when I was small and even though I was born at the tail end of the baby boom generation,...I remember hearing these songs from my childhood and they left a lasting impression

Hope's Remembrance Day Lentil Soup

Ingredients

2 cups of dried green lentils
1 cup chopped onions (2 large onions)
1 cup chopped leeks, white part only (depending on the size, maybe 2 leeks)...from my garden, yes!
1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon dried
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 cup medium-diced celery (3 stalks)
2 cups diced carrots (3 to 5 carrots)
8 cups of vegetable stock

2 fresh tomatoes
1/2 cup of tomato sauce,,,,I had some left over spaghetti sauce in the fridge
2 tablespoons red wine or red wine vinegar
Sour Cream, fresh parsley for topping....opt freshly grated parmesan cheese

Directions

Saute onions, leeks, garlic with olive oil. Add seasonings, cook for 20 minutes until the vegetables are translucent.

Add the seasonings and continue to cook. Ahhh... layering the flavours

In a large pot, cover the lentils with boiling water and allow to sit for 15 minutes. Drain.

Add the celery and carrots and cook for 10 more minutes.

Add the tomatoes, cook for another 5 minutes

Add drained lentils and vegetable stock

Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 1 hour, until the lentils are soft. Taste the soup and add any last seasoning to taste. Add the red wine and serve hot, topped with sour cream, parsley, grated parmesan cheese.

While the soup is simmering, let's make my easy and quick, dinner buns.

I love the smell of bread baking in the kitchen don't you? Pure comfort!

Hope's Quick and Easy Dinner buns

4 1/2 cups flour

4 1/2 teaspoons dry yeast

1 cup milk

3/4 cup water

1/2 cup margarine or butter

1/3-1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Mix 2 cups of flour and yeast in a large bowl

2. In a separate bowl, heat milk, water, butter, sugar and salt to a lukewarm in the microwave or on the top of the stove

3. Add all at once to flour mixture and mix until smooth. I use my kitchenaid stand mixer

4. Mix in enough flour to make a soft dough..2 -21/2 cups

5. Mix well until dough is soft and slightly sticky, then turn out onto a floured surface and let it rest under a greased bowl for 15 minutes.

6. Shape dough into balls and place on a greased baking pan...I like to top the buns with a mixture of oatmeal, ground flax seed and sunflower seeds but you can top it with anything you have on hand...or nothing.

7. Cover with a tea towel for 45 minutes to let it rise

8. Bake in preheated oven at 400 F for 12 to 15 minutes

So with the soup on the back burner, and the buns rising, I decided to make some healthy cookies as well since our cookie jar was empty and tomorrow the kids are going back to school.

I always think of my mother in law, Doreen when I make cookies. My husband says that his mom never made cookies for him and 3 siblings. She used to say, "I would make cookies, but they will just get eaten." Which I always thought was so funny. Another thing D would say if we hadn't heard from her in a while (since they didn't live in our town and to connect meant we had to call long distance) she would say, "I would have phoned, but I didn't know if you would be home."

Now don't get me wrong at all, D's mom Doreen was a LOVELY lady but she was quirky sometimes. I certainly had my moments with her when she was alive and some things really set me off, but when I hear other women complaining about their mother in laws, I wish I could give them some advice and tell them to treasure the days. If stuff is coming up, then it's a good thing and an opportunity to look at yourself in the mirror. I wish I had been a more tolerant and loving daughter in law. I see it now but it's all in hindsight, although on this Remembrance day, I'm not just thinking of the veterans, I'm thinking of lost moments with people like Doreen. She was a special person and I don't know if I ever told her that when she was alive.

In memory of Doreen and things that I'm learning, my kitchen motto is, "you can never have too many cookies and the faster they get eaten the better." ~by Lee Reynolds~

So with that, here is the Cookie Recipe I'm making today.

I have a general basic cookie recipe that I use and I just change the add ons based on what I have in my pantry and often the time of year as well. Today, it feels like we need a cinnamon type cookie...something soft, chewy and a bit spicy. Something that feels like a comfort cookie. Wish you were here Alyssa....you too Doreen!

Hope's Oatmeal Cookie Recipe

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups of margarine

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

3 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1 cup white flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 cups oatmeal

1/4 cup ground flax seed

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

Now this is where you get creative...today

1 cup of walnuts

1 cup of dried cherries...which I love but my husband said he wished I had put in raisins

My older kids said they wished we had white chocolates and pecans....but I didn't....and anyway that isn't as healthy but you see what I mean...this is where you can create your own cookie combo....today for us..it was walnuts and cherries...oh almonds and coconut...maybe with a few chocolate chips would be good too. Okay, you see, the cookie baker in me gets carried away. These turned out really chewy, a nice soft texture and not too sweet...the cherries were a nice touch

Directions.

Cream the butter in a large bowl...I use my kitchenaid mixer

Add the white and brown sugar

Add the 3 eggs, mixing well after each addition

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl, the flour, oatmeal, etc and then add them to the butter, sugar and egg mixture. See the consistency below.

Now the part I often ask my kids to help me with so I can get outside...whoever is in the house and there is usually one older child lingering around the kitchen...usually our 15 year old Harrison although today it's Clark......I get him to bake the cookies in a preheated oven...350 degrees F...for 10 minutes or until golden brown...if you over bake the cookies they will be crunchy...we like them soft so we find around 10 minutes is perfect.

As you can see from this picture, the sun is shining into my kitchen...time to get outside

The cookie jar is full, AND there is a tupperware container of cookies in the freezer as well. This makes 3 dozen, nice size cookies

But first, since D has been trying on skates, I thought it would be nice to offer a cookie.....

And also offer one to Harrison who was out raking a few leaves for my compost pile.

One of my compost bins...absolutely full. So I decided to do some trench composting. (Makes me think of the men in the trenches during war.) Have you heard of it? It's where you dig a hole in your garden and deposit your kitchen scraps and leaves or any debris from your garden and at this time of year...there is LOTS. Everything decomposes exactly where you need it.

So whenever we have a full bucket with kitchen scraps, which is daily in our house, we dig a big hole, put the scraps in and top them with leaves...nothing like composting in the spot you want to enrich your soil. The little girls have really gotten into helping mom as you can see.

The top two pictures were taken last week, when my tomatoes etc were still in the garden


These pictures were taken this weekend...it's really taken a turn towards winter but we can still dig in the garden

So after being out in the garden in the afternoon, it was nice to come in and have a cup of hot cocoa and a cookie and chat about what Remembrance Day means to my children

They do understand the sacrifice others have made for them and appreciate the peace we are living in right now. Lest we forget.

And now it's time to dish up dinner, open up the Pumpkineater ale my brother in law B gave us. It's from Howe Sound Brewing on the Sunshine coast...brewed with barley, fresh roasted pumpkin, hops, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, star anise, water and yeast. Apparently produced in very limited quantities. Thanks B...wish you were here.

Now, I'm not normally much of a beer drinking but I do recall my mom and her friends all going to the legion after the Remembrance day ceremonies so I'm giving it a go....plus doesn't it sound like it would compliment lentil soup? (It was good...but strong)

Clark is showing me how to pour the ale

Our 21 year old drinking his protein shake AND the ale at dinner...thanks for baking the cookies Clark

D, loves when I'm taking pictures for my blog...as he doesn't have to dish up himself!

Before we eat, let's give thanks for the abundance in our lives and today, for those who fought bravely so that we could live freely and in peace. Amen

If you are unable to see the YouTube video of the Remembrance Day...last post click on the hyperlink

This blog post is dedicated to my step father, J. R. Finch, my uncle Stan Herrling, my uncle Gordon Clark, and also to my mother in law, Doreen. May you all rest in peace and know how much you were loved

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