Green Lentil Soup with Fixins'

I think this dish would serve 4 people comfortably

You will need this stuff for the lentil soup:

3/4c lentils, i used green, but any will do if you want a colorful soup go for yellow!
1 large carrot, cut in 3
1/2 onion
1/8 tsp thyme
1/8 tsp basil
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp curry powder (indian pref)
2 cubes chicken boullion
1 tsp salt
couple sprigs of cilantro


I tend to presoak my beans for cooking but if you're in a pinch, you've come to the right place because lentils don't take long to cook anyways.(note- if you soak beans, throw out water and replenish with fresh water to boil! or if its last minute, pour off water after first boil- my friend Jason's grandma says "that's where the winds' at." Boil until beans are almost tender then add boullion carrot and onion. Simmer until all is tender. Pour into a blender and puree. If you have one of those hand held things that puree...go for it. If you lack something to puree with, sorry, just leave it chunky. Just Take out the carrot and onion after it cooks thoroughly and chop it up. I leave the carrots in larger pieces for better flavor. Taste and add salt if desired.

You will need this stuff for the fixins:

hot peppers*
2 cloves garlic
4 Tbsp Olive oil
1 Tbsp butter
8oz-16oz Mushrooms*
2-3 cups Chopped Kale
1/4c H2O + 2-3 Tbsp
1/2 onion
1/2 jalepeno

Saute finely chopped hot peppers, one clove garlic, 2tbsp olive oil and 1tbsp butter together until you get an aroma and the garlic starts to become golden.Then add mushrooms and saute until they are well cooked and release all their liquid.

Add Kale + 1/4c water, cover for a few minutes until kale changes color to bright green, then leave the cover off and let the remaining liquid evaporate. Once this is done, transfer to a bowl and set aside.

In the same pan, (since i try to use as little kitchen ware as possible= less dishes) saute olive oil, a clove of garlic, half of a yellow onion and half of a jalepeno. Saute until fragrant and garlic is turning golden. Add Brown rice (left overs are great for this) and 2-3 tablespoons of H2O. Let the water steam off to revitalize the rice, if you just made rice for this dish DO NOT ADD WATER.

To SERVE this wonderful dish I decided to put the soup in a larger wide bowl, filling the bowl 1/2-2/3 full and then spooning in the rice mixture. Add a sprig of cilantro for garnish and an extra umph of taste!

ENJOY!!!

*quantity depends on desired burn. I used a few different peppers and sorry, I can't tell you two names because we got them at a market in Tennessee. I can tell you what they looked and taste like...one is yellow, small and about 2-3 inches shaped like a banana pepper. It is the spicy of the bunch and has a growing, lingering heat, mild. One was enough for me to put a slight burn on the dish and make a more complex pepper taste. The other was orange, with a strong habanero flavor without the burn of it. An absolutely wonderful flavor! The third was a regular ol' jalepeno pepper.
*depending on how much you like mushrooms. Any kind, today I used white ones because that's what was in the fridge