Lentil Soup & Brown Bread

Ever since I was a teen, I've been making lentil soup. And my mom used to occasionally serve us brown bread, but it came out of a can (go figure, who would think of bread in a tin can?). I found this brown bread recipe, and it is AWESOME! It's not shaped round like a tin can, but it's really yummy. I store it in the fridge, but it doesn't last long because we eat it up! The lentil soup can easily be vegetarian, but I like to add ham or kielbasa.

Lentil Soup

1 onion, chopped

1/4 c. olive oil (I didn't use that much)

2 carrots, diced

2 stalks celery, chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tsp. dried oregano

1 bay leaf

1 tsp. dried basil

1 (14.5 ounce) can crushed tomatoes

2 cups dry lentils, picked over and rinsed

8 c. water

1/2 c. spinach, rinsed and thinly sliced

2 Tbsp. vinegar

salt to taste

ground black pepper to taste

ham bone & diced ham leftovers (optional)

In a large soup pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions, carrots, and celery; cook and stir until onion is tender. Stir in garlic, bay leaf, oregano, and basil; cook for 2 minutes.

Stir in lentils, and add water and tomatoes and ham bone (optional). Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for at least 1 hour. When ready to serve, stir in spinach and cook until it wilts. Add chopped ham, or strip ham from ham bone, or add kielbasa. Heat until warm. Stir in vinegar, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Boston Brown Bread

2 c. whole wheat flour

1 c. all purpose flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

2/3 c. packed brown sugar (I used dark)

1/4 c. molasses (I used the mild flavor)

2 c. buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.

In a large bowl, whisk together whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, baking soda, and brown sugar. Mix in molasses and buttermilk until just combined. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake for one hour (I baked mine for probably 45 min. and covered the top with some foil part way through baking so it didn't darken on the top too much). Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes, and then remove from pan. Cool completely before slicing.