Pioneer Woman at Heart

One Flourishing, Frugal and Fun Family!

One family learning to live off the land, cut back on expenses, and to live a simpler and a more self-sufficient lifestyle.

Adopted Motto

"Eat it up,
Wear it out,
Make it do,
Or go without."
~A Pioneer Sampler, by Barbara Greenwood~

Thursday, February 8, 2018

Donation Blanket ~ Lentil-Swiss Chard Soup

The fundraiser folks have asked for donations to auction off.  Hubby wants to make something from barn wood, and of course my donation will be crocheted.  We are strapped for cash, so we can't spend money to create either.


Like a crazy fool, I took on this project, and have been crocheting like a mad woman (putting all other  projects on hold).   This is how much of it I've been able to do in 4 days.  It's wider than the photo shows, but get the idea of how many rows it will take.  And colors.


On a good note, it's forcing me to do all my chores in super mode and earlier than before (less sitting time at the "procrastination station."  Otherwise, I'd get nothing done.  I hope I can finish it in time.  I've never attempted a blanket of this sort, with such little time.  I'm using all scrap yarn I have on hand, so I am praying I have enough.  I used a lot of it up, making my last scrap ripple blanket.

I also took a twist on my regular chores yesterday.  I spent 1 1/2 hours writing - 823 words later, a rough draft.  It's an article in the making, and it felt so good to be back to it again.

My harvest of garden swiss chard is still providing, and now that our warm up has cooled to a chilling 20°F day, I brewed up a pot of delicious-ness.  It's a vegetarian soup, as well as a grain free.   I'm on a roll with lentils this week, so here is the recipe.

Feel free to change it up to your liking. Let me know if you make it too.  It was bland, so I had to add more garlic and cayenne. After that it was pretty good.

Lentil-Swiss Chard Soup
1 cup green or brown lentils (rinsed and drained)
2 cups water
6 cups chicken broth, organic or homemade
Salt 
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
pinch of cayenne or crushed red pepper flakes (or both), or even diced jalapenos if you have them in your freezer.
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (or substitute with fresh parsley)
1 bunch green swiss chard leaves, coarsely chopped*
1/3 cup lemon juice, organic

*I pulled blanched frozen swiss chard from the freezer, and thawed it. I also used green lentils.

In a medium saucepan, combine lentils, water, broth/stock,  and 1 1/2 tsp. of salt (or to taste).  Bring to a boil.  Cover with lid slightly open, and cook until lentils are done.

In another saucepan heat oil, add onion and garlic (if you haven't blanched your chard, add them too).  Once onions (and chard if needed) are tender add too the soup, add all remaining ingredients to lentils.  When chard is tender, serve the soup.

Note:  I made this in my crockpot, and it turned out just as nice. I simply sauteed the onion/garlic in oil, then added to the remaining ingredients, and cooked all day.

I'm wondering....would sweet potatoes taste good in this soup?  Mmm. It's healthy, but I still think it needs something else in it.

12 comments:

Jodi said...

Love the afghan!!!

Granny_J said...

That blanket is going to be gorgeous. I crochet blankets of all different sizes and find that many parents of newborns now like having lots of colors instead of the soft baby colors of the past.

mamasmercantile said...

Kristina the blanket is a real delight and will surely make a great auction piece, beautiful array of colour.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Thank you Jodi!

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Thanks Granny J. Thanks for that tip too. I crochet baby blankets and may just do that too.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Thank you mamasmercantile!

Susan said...

A beautiful work of crochet, as usual. It will certainly grace someone's home - and for such a good cause. I love lentil soup - it is my favorite kind of soup!

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Susan, thanks. As for the soup, I loaded mine with extra swiss chard, but it was very good with the added spices.

Goatldi said...

Nice afghan lady. I knit but I am going to challenge myself with a pattern from a crocheting friend for a faux braid slouchy hat.Thinking in the mist of one weaving project, two knitting projects that perhaps this isn't the best timing for another project using a pretty much new to me craft. But heck what could possibly go wrong???!

Thanks for the share with the soup. We consume large quantities of soup in the winter. I tend to start with a suggestion (my chef friend calls recipes suggestions) and than toss in whatever sounds good. Lentil is a favorite and it is always nice to have one more recipe as my Dinosaur Kale is going to town in the green house.

Kate said...

I'm impressed with the blanket. I've tried to do ripple crochet, but somehow my mind wanders and I have to fudge on some rows to get the count right. I guess it's just not my thing, although I love to crochet. Yours is gorgeous.

And I've made many a pot of lentil soup, but the last batch I made was just bland, as you said, even though many good things went into it. Maybe I'm getting so old that my taste buds just don't register all those lovely ingredients! Anyway, I enjoyed your post. Regards, Kate in Oregon

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Goatldi, a faux braid hat sounds very interesting. Can't wait to see it now.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Kate, my kids typically won't eat a soup loaded with greens, but my once vegetarian daughter loved it. She added cayenne and homemade garlic powder to hers too.