Here's the thing: sometimes the internet is good. No really.
I was in New York last weekend, for a whirlwind trip to meet my editor and a bunch of wonderful people at my publishing house, do some pre-celebrations of my book with delightful friends (many of whom I was meeting for the first time), and then eat a great deal of food. I accomplished all of the above (and the food was so good, you guys). I had two long flights there and back, and look: I would like to be one of those people who is delighted by the prospect of long flights without being connected to the outside world, but in truth, I get antsy and impatient on long flights, and sometimes being able to scroll mindlessly through social media is exactly what I need to pass the time. So here is a tip that I learned from someone else and like to pass along to everyone: if it's possible with your airline, buy your wifi before the flight, it's way cheaper! Most airlines use Gogo for their wifi, so this is only verified for that service, but you can buy 24 hours of wifi from Gogo for $19 before your flight, but when you're on your flight, it costs $39 to have wifi for the length of the flight. Or you can buy an hour of wifi for $7 in advance, but on your flight, it's $11 for half an hour. I was very grateful for the internet on my flight home, when there were such heavy headwinds that the flight was already slow, and then they made us land in Salt Lake City to refuel. All you do is go to the Gogo site the day before your flight and set up an account (if you don't have one) and buy a pass; then when you sign on while you're on the flight, scroll down to "Redeem Pass." Go forth and Instagram your flights!
Today is my friend Amy Spalding's birthday, and not to spoil what I said about her in my acknowledgements, but she's a jewel of a person, a wonderful writer, and I never would have written a word if it wasn't for her encouragement and advice. She writes delightful contemporary YA books, the most recent of which is The New Guy (And Other Senior Year Distractions), which is like reading a book about if Paris Gellar from the Gilmore Girls was the star and got to date the hot boy. If you like books about smart, driven, teenage girls, you're going to love it.
Okay so it's starting to be that time of year where everyone keeps talking about how excited they are to eat soup. And then everyone gets shocked and horrified when I say I don't really like soup. It's not that I don't think soup can taste good, I've had plenty of soup that tasted good, it's that I don't enjoy liquid meals (I don't like smoothies either). I still like big simmering one pot meals, I just tend to make stews instead of soups, so things that have more heft and chew in every spoonful. So this week I made this lentil and sausage soup from Smitten Kitchen, but to make it more substantial, I added a cup of farro to the pot about 20 minutes before it was done, and it made it perfect for me. This recipe is really easy to tinker with -- don't use the farro if you don't want to, if you want it but you like your soups more liquidy than I do, add more water initially, if you're a vegetarian, eliminate the sausage and increase the spices, if you're vegan, do that and eliminate the cheese on top.
Lentil stew with sausage, kale, and farro
Ingredients
1/2 cup olive oil
2 links of spicy Italian sausage, casings removed (she said to use sweet, but I like spice, you can use either)
1 onion, diced
2 celery stalks, diced (I didn't use the celery because I knew I wouldn't use up a whole thing of celery this week and didn't want to buy it and waste it)
2 carrots, peeled and diced
4 cloves garlic, sliced and divided in half
a pinch of red pepper flakes
1 cup brown lentils
2 bay leaves
1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
6 cups water
1 cup farro*
2 bunches kale or chard, sliced thinly (I like kale here better than chard because it still holds its crunch in soups, but either works)
Grated Pecorino or Parmesan
*Note on farro: sometimes it's pearled, sometimes it's semi-pearled; pearled cooks faster and that's what I had, so cooking it for 20 minutes worked, but if you get the semi-pearled, you'll want to add it earlier, possibly along with the lentils. I'm sure you could use another grain here if you have it on hand!
Heat about half of the olive oil on medium heat (she says 1/4 cup, I never measure olive oil unless I'm baking, so just put a few glugs in). Add the sausage and let it brown, after about five minutes add the onion, celery (if you use it, unlike me), carrots, half of the garlic, salt, and the red pepper flakes. Cook about another five minutes until they're softened, then add the lentils, bay leaves, tomatoes, water and more salt. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10-20 minutes (depending on what kind of farro you have) and then toss in the cup of farro, stir, and keep simmering for another 20-30 minutes. Toss in the kale or chard, stir, and cook for another few minutes.
The recipe says the sizzling garlic oil that you finish this soup with is key, I liked it, but I also liked the soup just fine when I had it for lunch the next day and didn't have the oil, so either way works! But to make it, put more olive oil and the rest of the garlic in a small skillet on medium until the garlic is soft. Ladle your soup into bowls, and drizzle the garlic oil over it. Top with grated cheese and enjoy.
Have a great weekend!
Jasmine
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