Dinner last night. Adapted from Simple Bites' Green Lentil Soup with Coconut Milk and Curry.
Cooking at home. What you need to know...
Rule #1 :: There are no rules.
That might be a bit of an overstatement, but generally speaking it's true. Cooking is not as much an exact science as it is an art.
This is freeing for 2 big reasons:
1. You don't need to examine your Pyrex measuring cup from all angles and hold it up to the light to make sure you have exactly 1 cup of water before pouring it into your pot of soup.
When you're baking you'll want more precise measurements. But cooking...eh...not so much. And truth be told, I don't spend much time on my baking measures either.
2. You can substitute to suit your needs and your taste.
I teach best by showing so here is how this all translates.
Remember yesterday when I mentioned standing in your kitchen with a stocked pantry and fridge yet clueless as to what to make? I had one of those moments last night. I knew I wanted to make something. And then I remembered this recipe I came across last week. So I pulled out my phone and looked up Simple Bites...and then I almost gave up on this recipe because the title states "With Coconut Milk". And coconut milk? Not in my pantry.
But for kicks, I looked at the list of ingredients anyway.
ingredients:
garnish options:
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil (or unsalted butter)
- 1 tablespoon good quality curry powder, freshly ground
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 large sweet onion, chopped
- 5 cups of vegetable stock or water
- 1 1/2 cups green lentils, rinsed
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- fresh chopped chives
- yogurt
- pinch of curry powder
I had lentils, just not green lentils. And I had everything else except for the coconut milk. Seeing yogurt listed made me wonder...could I use the vanilla yogurt I have in my fridge as a coconut milk substitute?
I started Googling. {When in doubt Google. That can be non-rule number 3.} From what I saw most coconut substitutes required coconut extract. Not something I had on hand. I thought about it for 2.6 seconds and decided I would try the vanilla yogurt. Why you ask? Well, for one thing the Hubster doesn't actually get to eat dinner with me except for twice a week...so truthfully only my stomach was at stake. But the biggest reason I went with the yogurt was because I knew that it would still add sweetness, and even though my soup would be thicker in consistency, it would still taste good.
So I jumped right in.
Saute, saute, saute. {Please forgive my old and much loved pot...she is looking quite tattered these days!}
Here we are after the lentils simmered for an hour. They smelled fabulous. :)
Then I blended in the blender. Instead of blending all the lentils in smaller batches to have an even consistency throughout, I blended about 3/4 all at once, then returned the lentil puree to the pot with the remaining 1/4. This left me with some whole lentils and a thicker soup which was hearty and filling.
I chose to garnish with fresh chives and a pinch of extra curry powder.
So. What if I didn't attempt the curry soup? Or even worse {cue dramatic music} what if it turned out bad?
If I never tried in the first place, I never would have learned that vanilla yogurt is a decent substitute for coconut milk.
If it turned out awful? I would have had bread and cheese and a glass of wine for dinner instead. And I would still be telling you about it and why it was so awful. Because the important thing was to try something new.
No matter what, I don't think there is anything that could have stopped my dog from licking the bowl clean.
And leftovers? Already on their way to being devoured. ;)
Hi - Great to meet another Judith! I can really relate to this post - making subsitutions and the risk that a recipe might not come out just right. I think imperfection scares a lot of people out of the kitchen when they might otherwise have fun. Great series topic too!
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