"I need red lentils for the soup. There are the red lentils. Oh, they're so vibrant! They almost look like they're glowing. Well, I've substituted the dark ones before. There probably isn't much of a difference in flavor....why are you so intimidated by the bright ones?!?"
This was what was going on in my cerebral cortex as I was scanning the bulk bins at the grocery store. Despite the whole debate going on in my head, guess what I didn't buy.
Lentils.
I bought green split peas.
And what's worse, is that I didn't realize this until after I had purchased the other ingredients for the lentil soup, was gathering everything to cook, rinsed off the peas, placed them in the water and was about to stick them on the stove to boil.
All of a sudden, I had a revelation.
"Those aren't lentils."
Wow, Laurel, wow.
I got a phone call.
"How's dinner coming along?"
"I'm not sure."
"Huh??"
"There will have to be a Plan B because I failed to buy the main ingredient for the soup. I bought split peas."
"You can always make a substitution."
Great diversion, rescuing the floodgates from spillage.
Substitution it is.
The lentil soup recipe I was going to use is from the lovely Heidi Swanson over at 101 Cookbooks. I quickly researched a split pea recipe on her blog and stumbled upon this. Thankfully, everything I needed for that recipe was on hand as well. The lemon juice and zest really give it a wonderful zing that excites your tastebuds for something as simple as split pea soup. She has some of the best soup recipes, all vegetarian. Be sure to check them out as the rainy season descends upon us.
1 comment:
Haha - I had a recent lentil/split pea mix-up recently also! Sometimes the best things in life are accidents (like my husband, for example - a youngest child and an 'oops' baby ; ) And yes, I did just compare my husband to split pea soup...
...love your blog!
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