you may recall from my last post that i caught an ugly cold. well, friends, the cold is long gone, but i did catch something else: a fever for making soup. and the only cure? lentil curry soup.
there are few things that i miss eating as a vegetarian, mostly because i don’t like the taste of meat. (mini emilie vegetarian history is here.) chicken noodle soup is one of the few foods i still crave. i’ve found some other delicious soups, like kitchari, black bean soup, lentil dal, and of course the tasty minestrone, but none of these has ever replaced the classic chicken noodle soup, especially when i am feeling under the weather. which is exactly how i felt this weekend.
when i think about stuffed shells, i think of a dish that is a bit complicated – similar to the many steps it takes to make lasagna – and thus relegated to special events. so when we had a special event to cook for this weekend (bringing food to our friends’ house to spend time with them and their new baby), this was the first dish i thought about making.
we’re back home after a whirlwind trip up to washington and back. between driving endless hours, visiting a different city every day, spending loads of time with our family, and thinking about the future, i didn’t take many pictures of all the delicious food we ate. what a bad food blogger, huh? will a photo of mt shasta satiate you instead? i hope so, because it’s the prettiest picture on this post!
ok, so let’s get down to business. i bet you’re wondering what the heck muhammara is, right? well, it’s a delicious bell pepper, walnut, and molasses dip. it’s spicy and sweet and incredibly satisfying. what it’s not is lovely to photograph. the photos all turned out sort of blah. but the dip is so amazing that i couldn’t refrain from sharing the recipe with you.