Sunday, April 29, 2012

Roasted Asparagus and Sweet Potato Lentil Soup

Hope everyone had a nice and sunny weekend! This week’s Food Matter’s Project dish, Roasted Asparagus and White Bean Soup, was chosen by Adrienne of ADRIENNEATS. She has the original Mark Bittman recipe on her blog. Adrienne’s blog is lovely and I enjoy reading it. Her pictures are beautiful and her recipes are always delicious and wholesome, seasonal fare. As have been proven in the past few months, FMP members’ takes on recipes never fail to amaze me, so check out what everyone else did at our website.     


DFJ and I spent quite a bit on wine in the past few weeks and have a ton of produce in the refrigerator from a crazy grocery shopping trip two weeks ago. So groceries were limited to household essentials and no food until everything is used up, tight budget. Thus, my version of this dish is somewhat different because I had to use what was on hand. Luckily, I had asparagus! An onion instead of leeks, rosemary, thyme, and basil instead of just rosemary, a sweet potato instead of 2 baking potatoes, green lentils instead of beans, diced tomatoes and tomato paste instead of vegetable or chicken stock, and no wine. I made this soup earlier in the week and was nourished by it for a couple of dinners and it just got better every day.

roasted asparagus with salt and pepper in olive oil

roasted sweet potatoes, onions, garlic, dried rosemary and thyme,
with salt and pepper in olive oil 

lentils, water, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, basil, rosemary, and thyme

everything in the pot + a tablespoon of fresh lemon juice to add brightness
Although it was good, there was something lacking and too much about my soup… maybe I should go with vegetable stock and definitely use wine next time and cut back or do not use any thyme at all. I will definitely give Mark Bittman’s original recipe a try someday.


On a completely unrelated note, I would like to share a time-saving tip. If you knew me personally, you will find that I am never on time. Don’t get me wrong, I try, I really do! I just get distracted… breakfast (I never leave home without breakfast, otherwise I won’t survive), dishes, laundry to fold, things to put away, and so on.

The time it takes me to shower, put on my clothes, and be ready is no more than 15-20 minutes. It’s what happens before hopping in the shower that causes the delay (something I continue to work on). So, in order to keep the 20 minutes of getting ready to not extend further, I follow my friend, Anna’s, advice: set out my work outfits from Monday to Friday sometime during the weekend.


I spend about 15 minutes on Saturdays or Sundays picking out which top to wear with what pants, what cardigan to wear, what scarf with what shirt, shoes, socks, and even underwear. These outfits are then set out or hung and are ready to go. Right after my showers I just grab whatever I planned on wearing, put it on, and head out the door. This is a big time saver for me because I don’t have to spend another x number of minutes trying to make a decision on what to wear only to change my mind after I have already put it on. Those x number of minutes are reserved for an often recurring unfortunate event which is walking back to the house after starting the car because I always forget something: my glasses, cellphone, lunch, or coffee. When will I ever learn?!

Have a great week everyone!      

16 comments:

  1. Perhaps if you just set you departure time 5 to 10 minutes earlier everytime you have something to do, it will help you be in time!I am totally the opposite, I always arrive ahead of time! The soup has many beautiful ingredients. Sweet potatoes are a favorite of mine!

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  2. I also used tomatoes in my soup and thought they added to the totality. Your soup looks hearty and delicious.

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  3. This looks like a delicious soup! Honestly I don't think we'd ever guess that this version was only made with the ingredients you just happened to have on hand :-)

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  4. Oh yummy! What a great combination of ingredients!
    And that is a great idea! It's fine for me because I only get 4ish hours of sleep (no matter how much I try.. can't sleep more than that!) so I have lots of time. Maybe when I start sleeping more... This will come in handy :)

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  5. Your soup looks very good--I wish I could stick to a food budget better...I'm always buying everything the recipe calls for with some small exceptions. And great idea about the clothes--I really struggle to figure out what to wear and that can tack on anywhere from 10 minutes to 1/2 hour when I am trying to head out! I'm glad my dilemma is not one I suffer alone ;)

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  6. YUM! This combined 3 of my favorite foods! Looks delish :)

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  7. I think the combination of ingredients sounds great, maybe they just needed some spices (thinking about going the Indian route). Now I am thinking about making something similar and serving it over rice. I haven't eaten Indian food in too long.

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    1. So funny that you suggested that, Indian spices are my all-time go to, but this once, I decided to stick with herbs and it didn't work out the way I wanted it to... Wish I went my usual Indian spice route.

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  8. I wonder what that soup would be like pureed with a spicy hot sauce or chili oil on top!?! I bet fantastic!

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  9. Why not just decide what to wear the night before? I do that and it only takes two minutes, and then I set them out on the door handle ready to go.

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    1. I could do that, but at night after dinner or the gym or whichever comes before I fall asleep on the couch and barely make it to the bedroom. :)

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  10. I definitely thought about replacing the regular potatoes with sweet potatoes in this soup and you're making me wish that I had just done it! Looks so good!

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  11. What a yummy looking soup, Margarita! I love the fresh flavors you used in it, too. Great recipe.

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  12. I love how unique this soup is! I never would have thought to use lentils and sweet potatoes, but I love both so I bet this soup was amazing :).

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Let me know what your thoughts are... Your comments always make my day!