Going Veggie (at least for the night!)

Tonight, I'm making a nice soup & bread meal for a chilly night. J sounds skeptical of it, so we shall see how it goes. I think it will be delightful. I have a pot of lentil chili simmering on the stovetop and will be making cheddar scallion biscuits if my scallions are still any good. I adapted the chili from a recipe in the February 2003 issue of Gourmet and the biscuits are in the Gourmet Cookbook and on Epicurious at http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Cheddar-Scallion-Drop-Biscuits-106062.

Lentil Chili

1/2 red onion, ch.

1/2 red pepper, ch.

1/4 jalapeno, seeds removed & ch.

1 celery stalk, ch.

1 carrot, ch.

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. salt

A good heavy grinding of pepper

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 tbsp. brown sugar

1 tbsp. chili powder

1 tsp. cumin

1/4 tsp. cayenne

1 tsp. oregano

1/2 tsp. thyme

1/2 tsp. dry mustard

1 c. lentils

1 bay leaf

32 oz. chicken broth

Cook the veggies in the oil, with salt & pepper, in a soup pot until softened, 6-8 minutes. Mix brown sugar with herbs & spices. Add to veggies & cook, stirring constantly, until very fragrant, about 4 minutes. Add lentils, bay leaf and broth. Simmer, uncovered, 1 hour while you catch up with your auntie on the phone. Serves 3. I plan to dollop mine with sour cream and chopped scallions, as well as throwing a dash or two of hot sauce in.

I just tried the chili and it's superb, with just enough heat to make it interesting! Yay!