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!