The Book Tour Stops Here: A Review of "Until We Are Lost" by Leslie Archer, Served with a Recipe for Roasted Cauliflower with Za'atar, Cumin & Capers

Happy Aloha Friday! I'm happy to be bringing another review this week as I am a stop on today's TLC Book Tour of Until We Are Lost by Leslie Archer. Along with my review, there's a recipe for Roasted Cauliflower with Za'atar, Cumin & Capers inspired by my reading.

Publisher's Blurb:

When Tara Peary’s twin sister Sophie goes missing, Tara dives into New York’s underbelly to find her. Sophie is the one person who’s ever truly understood her, and Tara knows her sister isn’t the only one who needs help.

Tara is also on the run emotionally from her complicated childhood. Her memories are threatening to overwhelm her emotions and derail the hunt for Sophie. A psychotherapist keeps her afloat, but when Tara begins dating her therapist’s young tech-millionaire neighbor, she risks losing the only lifelines she has left.

The more Tara uncovers about her sister’s disappearance and the dark side of the rich elite, the less certain of the truth she becomes. As Tara reaches the center of the mystery, spanning from her childhood home in Georgia to a Southern California beach, she has to decide whether the truth is a price she’s willing to pay.

Hardcover: 414 Pages

Publisher: Lake Union Publishing (February 2, 2021)

My Review:  

This is one of those books that is difficult to review as I don't want to give away any of the twisty turning plot, so this review will be short and very vague. It wasn't what I expected and it's a bit bonkers in terms of the story. It also has a lot of dark subjects; sexual abuse and assault, family dysfunction, drugs, to name some of them. None of these subjects are glorified, and they are part of the story as the main character works through her past and PTSD with her therapist, but they can be triggers for some readers. At first I had a hard time connecting with the main character, Tara, who is fighting a lot of trauma and inner demons, but eventually I was rooting for her to find out the truth about her sister and hoping she could get to a good place. Not a light read but well written and it definitely kept me riveted and turning the pages to find out what was going to happen next, so it's a pick for me. This psychological thriller won't be for everyone but if you like a darker book with lots of unexpected turns, you should give Until We Are Lost a go.

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Author Notes:  Leslie Archer is the nom de plume of a New York Times bestselling author of more than twenty-five novels.

Connect with Leslie on her website. 

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Food Inspiration:

There was food in Until We Are Lost, mentions included cafe au lait, chocolate croissant, lunch at an Israeli restaurant with falafel sandwiches, beer, sushi, fried cod, yogurt, Chinese food, brown rice, pickles, buttered toast, a soup of slippery noodles and a dozen kinds of vegetables, champagne and tapas, brandy, Coke, espresso, coffee and Oreos, donuts, tacos, pastrami, corned beef, latkes, bagels and lox, coleslaw, sour pickles, chocolate egg cream, mezcal, tequila, caviar-filled puff pastry, smoked salmon on butter-slicked squares of black bread, minishrimp cocktails, steak, bourbon, Oolong tea, French toast and bacon, orange juice, raspberry jam, omelets with onions, mushroom and scallions, vodka martini, penne arrrabbiata, chocolate gelato, carciofi primavera salad, soda pop and funnel cakes, cold chicken, baked beans, and pastrami and rye.

I ultimately made the dish that sounded best to me and what I wanted to eat for my bookish recipe. Tara meets Figgy while lurking across the street from her therapist's house and when she first visits his plac, the air is "perfumed" by food, that she doesn't recognize with "exotic spices." "Cauliflower and pine nuts with cumin and za'atar," Figgy says. I love roasted cauliflower, and cumin, and za'atar, so that's what i wanted. I thought I had pine nuts in my freezer but I did not so I decided to add capers to the mix instead. 

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If you don't know za'atar, it's a Middle Eastern herb blend. Bon Appetit says, "Za'atar is so multifaceted and dynamic because it's a blend of so many different flavors, textures, and fragrances. Even though it varies greatly depending on where you are in the Middle East (specific recipes are sometimes closely-guarded secrets!), za'atar is generally a combination of dried oregano, thyme, and/or marjoram (woodsy and floral), with sumac (tangy and acidic) and toasted sesame seeds (nutty and rich). And, as if that weren't enough, za'atar sometimes contains salt, dried orange zest, dried dill, or the wild herb za'atar (also called hyssop, it grows throughout the Levant and is the mixture's namesake)."

Roasted Cauliflower with Za'atar, Cumin & Capers

By Deb, Kahakai Kitchen

(Serves 2 as Main, 4 as a Side)

1 medium cauliflower (about 2-ish lbs) cut into florets

1/4 cup olive oil

1 Tbsp za'atar

2 tsp ground cumin

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1 heaping Tbsp capers, drained (optional)

zest of 1 lemon + juice of 1/2 of the lemon 

 

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F. Place the oil, za'atar, cumin, salt and pepper into a large bowl and whisk until well-combined. Add the cauliflower and toss well. 

Transfer cauliflower to a large baking sheet and place in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Turn the cauliflower over and return to the oven for another 15-20 minutes, or until cauliflower is tender and browned on the edges. Stir the capers, lemon juice and lemon zest into the warm cauliflower mixture, serve, and enjoy!

Notes/Results:  I think I could eat this every day/night. I love thethe combination of the cumin and za'atar combined with the brightness of the lemon and briny capers. It's exotic comfort food. Pine nuts would have been nice but I would still put the capers in the mix. I ate two small bowls of this for dinner and practically licked them clean. I will happily make it again.

I'm sharing this post with the Weekend Cooking event hosted by Marg at The Adventures of An Intrepid Reader. It's a weekly event that is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share. Here's a link to this week's post.

Note: A review copy of "Until We Are Lost" was provided to me by the author and the publisher via TLC Book Tours. I was not compensated for my review and as always, my thoughts and opinions are my own. 
 
You can see the other stops for this TLC Book Tour and what other bloggers thought of the book here.

 

One Flew Over the Couscous Nest Middle Eastern Minestrone with Chickpeas & Israeli Couscous for Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammie) Sundays and #BlendsBash2020

It's a bit of deja vu this week as last Sunday I was experimenting in my kitchen with a Book Blend from the The Book Club Cookbook's Lord of the Fries Garlic Seasoning Blend (you can see my Lord of the Fries Seasoned Pan-Fried Gnocchi in Creamy Garlic Soup here) and this Sunday finds me back in my kitchen and experimenting with another Book Blend; One Flew Over the Couscous Nest and creating another delicious soup inspired by it. Oh well, in my book you can never have too many soups or too many punny seasoning blends!

One Flew Over the Couscous Nest; Couscous Seasoning is of course named after One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, a novel by Ken Kesey. Set in an Oregon psychiatric hospital, I think it was a rule that you had to read it at some point in the upper grades high school if you lived in the state, and watch the movie along with it. Wikipedia says that, "the narrative serves as a study of institutional processes and the human mind as well as a critique of psychiatry and a tribute to individualistic principles."

One Flew Over the Couscous Nest spice blend is hand blended from cumin, coriander, paprika, cinnamon and parsley and can be added to dry couscous to be steamed. I like the note on the side of the bottle: "Nurse Ratched would disapprove, but this earthy North African blend is a distinctive match for your couscous, adding a dose of individuality."  I'd also add this blend to eggs, rice dishes, any vegetables and fish or meat skewers.  

My One Flew Over the Couscous Nest Middle Eastern Minestrone with Chickpeas & Israeli Couscous is my Middle Eastern take on an Italian classic soup minestrone which basically translates to "big soup." This is a big soup in terms of flavor and ingredients as it's I have replaced the more traditional white or kidney beans with chickpeas and the Italian pasta with Israeli or pearled couscous. I added in eggplant and zucchini and of course the warm and exotic One Flew Over the Couscous Nest seasoning.

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

By Deb, Kahahkai Kitchen

(Makes 6 Servings)

 

3 Tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

1 medium carrot, chopped

1 large celery stalk, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp One Flew Over the Couscous Nest Seasoning Blend, or similar flavor profile

1 tsp chili pepper flakes, or to taste (I used Aleppo pepper)

1 large zucchini chopped

2 medium Japanese eggplant, chopped

1 can fire-roasted diced tomatoes + their juices

1  (24 oz) jar of your favorite brand of marinara or garlic pasta sauce

4 cups vegetable broth

1 1/2 cups dried Israeli  couscous

sea salt and black pepper to taste

 

To serve: chopped fresh parsley and  yogurt or labni if desired. (If you want to keep it vegan, use a non-dairy milk version).

Heat the oil in the bottom of a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots and celery and cook about 10 minutes, until veggies have softened. Add garlic, One Flew Over the Couscous Nest seasoning blend and chili pepper flakes and cook another minute or two until fragrant. Add the zucchini and eggplant and stir to coat in the spices. Add the diced tomatoes with their juices, pasta sauce, and vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer about 10 minutes. Raise heat until soup is bubbling and stir in the Israeli couscous. Cook about 8 minutes, until couscous is tender. Taste and add sea salt and black pepper as desired.

Serve in bowls garnished with chopped fresh parsley and a spoonful of yogurt or labne on top. Enjoy!

Notes/Results: A stomach and soul-warming soup, rich and full of exotic flavor and a little bit of heat. It's thick and chunky and almost stew like, so if you want brothier soup you can reduce the couscous or add more broth to get the consistency you like. I love the One Flew Over the Couscous Nest blend as it is aromatic, warming, slightly smoky and has a little touch of almost sweetness from the cinnamon--it's a blend that makes you take a step back and wonder what's in it. It transforms the soup and takes it up a level. I would happily make it again. (BTW: if you can't find Israeli couscous, you could use regular couscous or even bulgur wheat.)  

This soup is my third recipe created for for #BlendsBash2020. If you missed my Dukkah Earl Grilled Eggplant Toasts with Whipped Feta & Dukkah post, go take a look and see my introduction to Blends Bash, 2020 hosted by The Book Club Cookbook, purveyor of delicious seasoning blends cleverly named after books, television shows, and music. 

Many thanks to The Book Club Cookbook for providing me with this fun and delicious seasoning blend. I received no compensation for taking part in the virtual 2020 #BlendsBash party and my thoughts and experience using the blends are my own.

I'll be sharing at least  one more recipe between now and December as will more than 30 other bloggers as part of the 2020 Blends Bash!  You can check out all the bloggers participating in the #BlendsBash here.

Here's a sneak peek the blends i'm featuring from October to December in their adorable packaging. These blends are so delicious and fun--they make wonderful gifts for your foodie friends and fans of the many book, TV and song blends they feature. Check out a list of blends here.

Speaking of soup, let's take a look into the Souper Sundays kitchen and see who is here this week!

Crafty Gardener is back with some warming Chilly for Chili, saying "When it gets chilly out it is time to cook a pot of chili. I make lots and freeze it for later, as you never know when you need some comfort food. Once the chili is done, serve with some nice crusty bread and freeze portions for later." 

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 week!

 

Sami Tamimi's Chilled Cucumber and Tahini Soup with Spicy Pumpkin Seeds for Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammie) Sundays

Although I am limiting my cookbook purchases due to practicality (I own too many) and finances (pay cuts in times of COVID), but I decided to make an exception and give myself an early birthday present of Falastin by Sami Tamimi. Tamimi has co-authored two of my favorite cookbooks with Yotam Ottolenghi, Jerusalem and Ottolenghi Simple and we are cooking along with him at I Heart Cooking Clubs. 

There are many recipes I want to try but since it's Sunday and hot and humid, his Chilled Cucumber and Tahini Soup with Spicy Pumpkin Seeds won out as my first recipe to make. 

Sami says, "If you want something to be rich and creamy and vegan all at once, tahini is often the big secret, ingredient-wise. Swirled in a sauce, a dressing, or a soup, as here, tahini is a wonderful  way to enrich a dish. With the cucumber, lemon, and herbs doing all the work at the other end to lighten things up, this is a perfect meal for a summer day." 

 

Chilled Cucumber and Tahini Soup with Spicy Pumpkin Seeds

From Falastin by Sami Tamimi

(Serves 4)

Spicy Pumpkin Seeds

3 Tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup/40 g pumpkin seeds 

1 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp chile flakes (I used Aleppo pepper)

1/8 tsp salt

3 large cucumbers (2lb 2 oz/1kg) peeled

1/4 cup/65 g tahini

2 Tbsp olive oil, plus more to serve

2 lemons: finely grate the zest to get 2 tsp, then juice to get 1/4 cup/60ml

2 large garlic cloves, crushed

1/2 cup/10g dill, roughly chopped, plus a few fronds

3/4 tsp Aleppo chile flakes (or 1/2 tsp regular chile flakes)

3 1/2 oz/100g ice cubes

1 cup/20g mint leaves

1 cup/20g parsley, roughly chopped

salt and black pepper

1 tomato, cut into 1/4-inch/6mm dice (1/2 cup/80g)

To prepare the pumpkin seeds, put all the ingredients into a small sauté pan and place over medium heat. Cook for about 8 minutes, stirring frequently, until the seeds begin to color lightly and pop. Transfer to a bowl (or to an airtight container if making a batch) and set aside to cool. 

Cut off a roughly 3-oz/80g chunk of cucumber and slice in half. Scoop out the seedy core and put this in a countertop blender (or a deep bowl if you are using an immersion blender), then finely chop the remainder into 1 1/2-inch/1cm dice. Set this aside. Roughly chop the remaining 2 cucumbers into 3/4-inch/2cm chunks and transfer to the blender along with the tahini, oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, chopped dill, Chile flakes, ice cubes, half the mint, half the parsley, 1 tsp salted a good grind of black pepper. Blitz for about 2 minutes, until completely smooth, then keep in the fridge until ready to serve. 

Divide the soup among four deep bowls and spoon the reserved cucumber and diced tomato on top. Shred the remaining mint and sprinkle this over each portion, along with the remaining parsley, the dill fronds, the spicy pumpkin seeds, and a final drizzle of oil and serve. 

Other Notes: 

Playing Around: Double or triple the batch for the pumpkin seeds, if you like; they keep for a week in a sealed container at room temperature, and are lovely sprinkled over all sorts of salads and roasted vegetables. 

Getting ahead: The soup can be made up to a day in advance; it keeps well and doesn't lose its color. Just give it a stir before serving, as there'll be a little water separation. 

Notes/Results: Rich and herby and satisfying, I really like this vegan soup. The tahini adds a nutty flavor that is brightened by the lemon. The best part? The spicy pumpkin seeds. I am glad I quadrupled the recipe because I have been munching on them all day. If I stop eating them and have enough, I think they'll be great on salads. I would happily make it again. 

Linking up with I Heart Cooking Clubs where we are welcoming Sami Tamimi as our featured chef for the next six months. 

Let's see who is here in the Souper Sundays kitchen this week!

Shaheen of Allotment2Kitchen brought a stew-ish Baby Tomato Kofta with Smoky Tomato Sauce and said, "...i made this Cypriot recipe called Domatokeftethes - Baby Tomato Kofta some time last week. The cookbook author writes ' this is kind of based on a Lenten Cypriot recipe. But it's got a splosh of Armenian and a sprinkle of Turkey in there too."

Judee of Gluten Free A - Z Blog shared pretty Beet and Cardamon Soup, saying "This soup is not for everyone-but if you like beets and these spices, dig in! I ate it warm and then chilled it too for the next day- I liked it best chilled the next day! If you try it, please let me know what you think???"

Kim of Stirring the Pot made Ina Garten's Cheesy Potato and Corn Chowder. She said, "This soup is everything I wanted it to be. It was good on day one and absolutely delicious on day two. Overnight the potatoes thickened the chowder and everything became more flavorful. I love the comforting nature of potato soup and the corn adds a touch of freshness. The bacon...who can argue with the crunchy saltiness of bacon on top? This is a hug in a bowl and exactly what I needed."

Thank you to all who joined me this week! 

(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).

Hope you join in!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Have a happy healthy week!

 

Dukkah Earl Grilled Eggplant Toasts with Topped with Whipped Feta & Dukkah for #BlendsBash

2020 has not been a year full of bright spots for most of us. In fact, I know very few people that aren't just ready for it to be over with. So when The Book Club Cookbook contacted me and asked if I'd like to close the year taking part in their 2020 virtual #BlendsBash I was all in! From September into mid-December I'll be sharing some original recipes made with their wonderful spice blends, al cleverly and punnily named for books, television shows and songs. 

First up for me, some fun and fabulous Dukkah Earl Grilled Eggplant Toasts Topped with Whipped Feta & Dukkah.

A little background: 

Duke of Earl" is a 1962 US number-one song, originally by Gene Chandler. It is the best known of Chandler's songs, and he subsequently dubbed himself "The Duke of Earl". The song was penned by Chandler, Bernice Williams, and Earl Edwards. This song was a 2002 inductee into the Grammy Hall of Fame and is not too hard to learn the words too! 😉

Dukkah is a Egyptian and Middle Eastern condiment made up of a mixture of herbs, nuts (usually hazelnuts) and spices. It is typically used as a dip with bread or vegetables as an appetizer or pupu as we call them here. I had a small kine addiction to Trader Joe's Dukkah Blend a few years ago and then they stopped making it for a while. I tried making my own but I confess, the urge to have someone blend and pound the mixture for me usually wins out. 

When I saw that my friends at The Book Club Cookbook added Dukkah to their Song Blends line-up, cleverly calling it Dukkah Earl, I knew I had to add it to my list of spice blends for the Blends Bash party they are hosting.   

Dukkah Earl contains hazelnuts, sesame, coriander, cumin, black pepper, sumac, sea salt, nigella seeds, Aleppo, spearmint. I wanted to do something fun with it and I had seen a few articles online about eggplant toasts--a lower carb, bread-free toast option and had been wanting to try them. I decided to do a version with whipped dukkah feta and a sprinkling of Dukkah Earl on top for the crunch factor. You could of coarse smear the whipped feta on actual bread or pita bread, but I think the eggplant toasts are fun!

Dukkah Earl Grilled Eggplant Toasts with Whipped Feta & Dukkah

By Deb, Kahakai Kitchen

(Makes 4-6 Toasts)

1 medium-large eggplant, sliced into 3/4-inch slices
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp spice of choice (might I suggest One Flew Over the Couscous Nest by The Book Club Cookbook--it's a blend of Cumin, coriander smoked sweet paprika, cinnamon and parsley)
a sprinkling of salt and pepper to taste

Whipped Dukkah Feta (see recipe below)

sea salt and black pepper to taste

Dukkah Earl spice blend to garnish (or another dukkah blend, or crushed hazelnuts)

Place the eggplant slices in a strainer and toss with 1/2 tbsp salt. Let drain for 1 hour. (This is a good time to make the whipped feta!) After 1 hour, rinse off the eggplant slices and pat dry with paper towels. 

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking pan with parchment paper. Brush the slices in olive oil and sprinkle on the spice blend and sea salt and pepper. 

Pace the eggplant slices on the paper lined baking sheet. Roast for around 20-25 minutes or until the eggplant appears soft and slightly browned. Allow to cool slightly before spreading the whipped feta topping on. Top with a sprinkle of the Dukkah Earl and enjoy!

Whipped Dukkah Feta

by Deb, Kahakai Kitchen 

 

6 oz feta cheese

3 oz cream cheese

1 Tbsp lemon juice, or to taste

1 tsp Dukkah Earl Seasoning Blend (or seasoning blend of choice)

 

Add crumbled feta to a food processor and pulse until small crumbs remain. Add in cream cheese and puree for 4-5 minutes, scraping down the sides when necessary, until feta is super creamy. Serve as desired.

 

Notes/Results: These were really tasty and really fun to eat! I liked the mix of all of the Middle Eastern spices with the eggplant, feta and lemon juice. The flavor of the dukkah comes through and the crunch of the herb mixture on top is a nice contrast. This is an excellent dukkah--fresh and just the right coarseness. The one thing I would change is trying to pan fry my eggplant toasts next time. They were soft and delicious but when I think of toast, I want more crisp crunch. Still, I ate them all happily--they were like nice soft bread. My eggplant was not particularly large and so I thought three toasts with the whipped feta was a good amount of breakfast or lunch. They would be really fun for one-bite appetizers if you used a small eggplant too. While there are a few steps to making these, they are very easy to make and I will definitely be making them again. 

Many thanks to The Book Club Cookbook for providing me with this tasty seasoning blend. I received no compensation for taking part in the virtual 2020 #BlendsBash party and my thoughts and experience using the blends are my own.

I'll be sharing more recipes between now and December as will more than 30 other bloggers as part of the 2020 Blends Bash!  You can check out all the bloggers participating in the #BlendsBash here

Here's a sneak peek at the other blends I'll be featuring over the next couple of months in their adorable packaging. These blends are so delicious and fun that they will make wonderful gifts for your foodie friends and fans of the many book, TV and song blends they feature. Check out a list of blends here. 

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I'm sharing this post with the Weekend Cooking event  being hosted by Marg at The Adventures of An Intrepid Reader. It's a weekly event that is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share. You can see this week's round up post here.

 

Ottolenghi's Legume (Noodle) Soup for Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammie) Sundays

I am not sure how long ago I pinned this Yotam Ottolenghi recipe from The Kitchn, but it must have been a few years ago at least. I kept getting ready to make it and then putting it off due to the number of ingredients/steps because as I frequently admit, I am a lazy cook and don't like a lot of fuss. But, finally my procrastination is over and I tackled the Legume (Noodle) Soup today with a couple of minor changes to make it easier.

Rather than separately soak and cook two kinds of beans, I bought dried garbanzo beans and frozen baby lima beans to add in with the split peas. Because I didn't want to journey to Whole Foods or a natural foods store, I swapped in split green peas for the yellow split peas called for in the recipe. And finally, because I forgot to reserve some of the onion mixture for topping, I used fried garlic-pepper onions I keep on hand. It all still worked beautifully and the soup is well worth the extra fuss.

Ottolenghi says, "The soup is directly inspired by a Persian soup called ash-e reshteh. As he says, it is the Iranian answer to minestrone. It calls for reshteh noodles, which he notes can be found at Iranian grocery stores, but it’s fine to substitute linguine. And, he notes, “as suggested by the parentheses in the recipe name, you can dispense with the noodles altogether if you like. There is plenty going on, body-wise, without them.”'

Legume (Noodle) Soup
Slightly Adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi via TheKitchn.com
(Serves 8)
  

2/3 cup dried chickpeas, soaked in water overnight with 2 tablespoons baking soda

2/3 cup dried lima beans, soaked in water overnight with 1 tablespoon baking soda

5 1/2 Tbsp clarified butter

2 large yellow onions, thinly sliced (4 cups)

10 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1 1/2 tsp ground turmeric

1 rounded cup yellow split peas

8 1/2 cups vegetable stock

about 1 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped

about 2 cups cilantro leaves, chopped

1 cup dill leaves, chopped

rounded 1 cup thinly sliced green onions, white and green parts

5 cups baby spinach leaves

3 1/2 oz reshtesh or linguini

2/3 cup sour cream, plus 1 teaspoon per portion to finish

1 1/2 Tbsp white wine vinegar

4 limes, halved

salt and black pepper

Drain and rinse the chickpeas and lima beans and place them in 2 separate saucepans with plenty of water. Place over medium heat, bring to a simmer, and cook until just tender. This should take anywhere between 20 and 40 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Put the butter, onions, and garlic in a large pan and place over medium heat. Cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden brown. Stir in the turmeric, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and some black pepper and remove one-third of this mix from the pan to use later.

Add the chickpeas and lima beans to the pan, then add the split peas and stock. Simmer for about 35 minutes, skimming the froth occasionally, until the peas are tender.

Add the herbs, green onions, and spinach, stir well, and cook for another 15 minutes; add more stock or water if the soup is very thick. Add the noodles and cook for about 10 minutes, until they are just done. Stir in the sour cream and vinegar and serve at once, garnished with 1 teaspoon of sour cream per portion and the reserved cooked onion. Serve lime halves to squeeze over each portion.

Notes/Results: This soup's flavors make it work the extra effort of chopping and cooking that it takes to get it onto the table. The different textures of the beans and peas and pasta are excellent and along with the pasta make it completely satisfying without being heavy. The flavor of the herbs combined with the tang of the vinegar, lime juice and sour cream make it interesting and it is a good way to get some healthy foods into your body. I don't think my changes in using the frozen limas and green peas made a difference in taste and I look forward to bringing it to lunch in my cold office this week. I'm glad I finally tried it and would happily make it again.

 
Linking up with I Heart Cooking Clubs where the theme is Procrastinator's Special where we make recipes we have been putting off.

 Let's look into the Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammie) Sundays Kitchen and see who is here.

Judee of Gluten Free A-Z Blog shared a Very Easy Gazpacho and said, "The end of summer is the perfect time to make tomato gazpacho when the local farmer's markets are overflowing with ripe fresh tomatoes, red peppers, and cucumbers! ... It's very easy to make and can be made up to 2 days in advance. It's simple enough to whip up any night of the week with dinner, or fancy enough to serve guests for brunch! It is naturally gluten free and dairy free which makes it allergy friendly."

 
Claudia of Honey From Rock brought another cold soup, a classic Perfect Cold Borscht for Hot Weather and said, "This is the time of year when cold soups come into their own, and yes, it's still hot here.  I was very happy with the way this version of Borscht turned out.  I've tried others, good too.  There are probably as many variations of this soup as there are nostalgic emigres around"

Tina of Squirrel Head Manor went the hot soup route with me this week making Fish Chowder with Cobia and Peas. She said, "We are so very luck to know someone who loves to fish. The fish he gives us is fresh from the gulf of Mexico, usually only 3 days old at the most. This past week we were given Mangrove snapper which Doug grilled, and Cobia which I tossed into a chowder. I've been fussing about losing a bit of weight so a nice chowder for lunch was a good start."

 
And here at Kahakai Kitchen, I made a simple Russian Tomato-Cucumber-Onion Salad this week to pair with a recent book review. Very simple and dressed with dill and sour cream, it went beautifully with some local opah (a mild white fish) for an easy dinner. 

 
Thanks to Judee, Claudia and Tina for joining in this week!

About Souper Sundays:

Souper Sundays (going since 2008) now has a format of a picture link each week where anyone interested can post their soups, salads, or sandwiches at any time during the week and I post a recap of the entries the following week.

(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 week!