One Hundred Beers of Solitude Lemony Red Lentil & Rice Soup: Sunshine Comfort for Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammie) Sundays

If you follow this blog,  you may have seen my #BlendsBash 2020 posts or other recipes I have created using the fabulous Book Blends, TV Blends, and Song Blends from The Book Club Cookbook. Well, Blends Bash might be over but that doesn't mean the cooking stops, especially after I received a little early Christmas thank you present with two blends I hadn't tried. I had already planned on making a lemony red lentil soup, but after see the ingredients in One Hundred Beers of Solitude and tasting the "Hoppy Citrus Sucker Punch" it gives, I knew it had to feature in today's soup. 

I have not read One Hundred Years of Solitude, the 1967 modern classic novel from Gabriel García Márquez before, but maybe some day. Amazon says, "One Hundred Years of Solitude tells the story of the rise and fall, birth and death of the mythical town of Macondo through the history of the Buendiá family. Inventive, amusing, magnetic, sad and alive with unforgettable men and women—brimming with truth, compassion, and a lyrical magic that strikes the soul—this novel is a masterpiece in the art of fiction."

I am going to go ahead and say that One Hundred Beers of Solitude is a masterpiece in spice blending, as it's hand blended from honey, sea salt, citric acid, lemon, grapefruit, lime juice powder, orange juice powder, orange, black pepper, basil, and cascade hops. For someone who loves citrus, it does pack a punch, in the best way and the hops add an extra layer of citrus and flowery flavor. that is very unique. The bottle says it can be used on everything from watermelon salad to hard boiled eggs and "turns soups, salads, cheese, meat and vegetables into masterpieces." 

I love adding lemon and bright acidity to lentils and so I knew I wanted this spice featured in the soup I was planning on making today. It will be hard to capture the flavor without this special blend but you could try adding a hoppy citrus beer and pulling out all of your dried lemon and orange from the spice cabinet. Better yet, click on the links below and order this unique and versatile blend. 

One Hundred Beers of Solitude Lemony Red Lentil & Rice Soup

By Deb, Kahakai Kitchen

(Yields 8 Servings)   

 

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 sweet onion, diced

1 large carrot, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 medium-large Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 heaping Tbsp One Hundred Beers of Solitude Blend, or to taste

8 cups light veggie broth (I used low-sodium non-chicken bouillon paste & water)

2 cups red lentils, washing and picked through

2 cups cooked rice (I used basmati rice)

juice of one lemon, or to taste

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

yogurt or sour cream (dairy or non-dairy) to serve if desired

Heat oil in a large soup pot over medium heat and add the onion, carrot, and celery. Cook until just softened, about 8-10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook another minute before adding the cubed potatoes and One Hundred Beers of Solitude and stirring to coat. Pour in the broth and red lentils and bring to a boil. 

Reduce heat and cook about 20 minutes until red lentils have mostly dissolved and thicken the soup and vegetables are tender. Stir in the cooked rice and lemon juice. Taste and add sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. To serve, ladle into bowls and top with a scoop of yogurt or sour cream & a light sprinkle of One Hundred Beers of Solitude on top if desired. (I used Tofutti dairy-free sour cream). Enjoy!

 

Notes/Results: This soup was so good! Tart and lively in flavor and rich and hearty without being heavy. It would be a great soup for a grey and rainy day or for when you are under the weather as it gives strong "chicken rice soup" vibes. I like things extra lemony so you can adjust the amount of lemony juice you put it if you want it less bright. The hops are there, slightly floral and citrus, but subtle too. With the lentils and rice it is a thick and almost creamy soup, so if you want a brothier version, add more liquid to it. I am excited to have this for lunch the next few days before Christmas, and to try this Book Blend in other recipes. 

I love this soup and cooking with One Hundred Beers of Solitutude. Stay tuned for my kitchen experiments with A Song of Spice and Fire: Shichimi Togarashi --I feel like it needs to be paired with some ahi tuna STAT!

Many thanks to Judy and The Book Club Cookbook for providing me with this fun and delicious seasoning to try! I was not compensated for this post and my thoughts and experiences using the blends are my own.

Other recipes I have made with The Book Club Cookbook's Blends: 

• Dukkah Earl Grilled Eggplant Toasts with Whipped Feta & Dukkah

• One Flew Over the Couscous Nest Middle Eastern Minestrone with Chickpeas & Israeli Couscous 

• Lord of the Fries Seasoned Pan-Fried Gnocchi in Creamy Garlic Soup
  

• Tarragon with the Wind Blender Béarnaise Sauce Over Poached Egg on Crispy Hashbrown Cakes

• North Carolina Fish Stew & Biscuits with "Where the Crawdads Zing" Compound Butter

• Satay'in Alive Vegetarian Satay Soup with Chickpeas & Tofu

• Dried and Prejudice Baked Eggs with Shallot's Web Shallots

• Dried and Prejudice (Not So Traditional Vegetarian) White Soup

After the Blends Bash parties, there is quite a list of recipes for the various The Book Club Cookbook seasoning blends that I am proud to be a part of. You can see all of the delicious recipes here and also find links to order Book, Song and Spice Blends of your own.

-----

 Let's take a look into the Souper Sundays kitchen and see who is here:

The Crafty Gardener shared a perfect holiday present soup mix for Wild Rice and Barley Soup saying, "I’m always looking for ways to make home made gifts and this year I’ve put together gifts in a jar. I’m sharing the wild rice and barley soup mix today. I used the idea of the upcycled playing cards and created some tags with the cooking directions on the reverse side. A delicious home made gift." 

Thank you for joining me this week Crafty Gardener!

(If you aren't familiar with Souper Sundays, you can read about of the origins of it here.
 

If you would like to join in Souper (Soup, Salad, and Sammie) Sundays, I would love to have you! Here's how...

To join in this week's Souper Sunday's linkup with your soup, salad or sandwich:

• Link up your soup (stew, chili, soupy curries, etc. are fine), salad, or sandwich dish, (preferably one from the current week or month--but we'll take older posts too) on the picture link below and leave a comment on this post so I am sure not to miss you. Also please see below for what to do on your blog post that you link up to Souper Sundays in order to be included in the weekly round-up.

and 

On your entry post (on your blog):

• Mention Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays at Kahakai Kitchen and add a link back to this post. (Not to be a pain but it's polite and only fair to link back to events you link up at--so if you link a post up here without linking back to this post or my blog on your post, it will be removed.)
• You are welcome to add the Souper Sundays logo to your post and/or blog (completely optional).

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Have a happy, healthy holiday week! Whatever you celebrate, I hope your week is a good one.