Warning: Dangerous Pun Ahead!

Just when you think that life is returning to normal after struggling through a kitchen remodel, your brand-spanking-new oven suddenly quits on you.  And, of course, it has the audacity to stop working in the middle of bread baking.  I'm left wondering if the Cosmos is telling me that I should just give up trying to eat thoughtfully and resort to fast food for the rest of my life...I mean, hey, that kind of food gives you more (calories) with less (nutrition...), too! :)  Fortunately, the burners are still all functioning properly, and as Maya Angelou would say, "but still I rise" (only my bread won't).

44.  Quick Corn Soup, pg. 200

This is absolutely a darling little soup!  I grabbed a pint of corn out of the freezer midday, and with about 5 minutes of prep and 15 minutes of cooking, this soup was on by evening.  I love sauteed onions so much that I took about 1/4 c. chopped onions and let them hop around in 1 T. olive oil just until translucent.  Then, I added the 2 c. milk and salt and pepper, leaving out the seasoned salts.  Dumped the pureed corn and milk in, and (here, Emerill might say BAM!) the soup was done.  Amazing.  As long as your corn is tasty, there is no way to mess this soup up.

Overall: 4.5 out of 5  Yum. Yum. Yum.

45.  Middle Eastern Lentil Soup, pg. 213

If you've ever had the lentil salad in Extending the Table, just think of this recipe as the hot version of it.  Seriously.

When you look at the recipe, it may seem like it's going to be boring with basically just lentils, onions, garlic, and a dusting of cumin...and then you see "lemon juice" at the end and you cock your head to the side because you're not sure you agree with the idea.  But I promise you that if you put it in, you'll understand in the first bite.  We also added a good 1/2 t. of cayenne, which really packed a punch.  There's really not much to say about this soup, other than it's good.  Because it was a bit hot the first day, the second time we had it, Husband added a dollop of sour cream which reminded me a bit of stroganoff.  We also ate it over potatoes the second day because it had gotten pretty thick after it cooled.

Overall:  4 out of 5  Tasty and not too demanding of your time or money.