On Friday I performed in a garage. I know, I’ve really made it big! But seriously, this is one of the best shows in the city. My buddy Helder runs an amazing stand-up comedy show out of his garage and it’s PACKED every week. It’s quite magical. As I was leaving he told me to take some beets from his garden. What a guy! I’m not one to scoff at free beets, so I obliged. They were tiny but I was so excited to use every single part of the plant to its fullest potential. I also had a giant cauliflower in my fridge so I googled “Cauliflower and beet green soup”.

A recipe from Martha Stuart popped up and the rest is history. Check it out!

http://www.marthastewart.com/870078/creamy-cauliflower-soup-greens

Hers called for kale but I used my beautiful beet greens. I also substituted some chicken stock to add more flavour. I used the beet root as a garnish. Cut thin slices of beets and pan fry them for with oil, salt and pepper for about 5 minutes, flipping once. Place the beets on top of the soup with extra dill, chives and a squeeze of fresh lemon. I really loved this soup. It tastes even better the next day and you feel good about eating it because it’s warm, soothing and healthy! It was a perfect Monday night meal to start the week off right. PRO TIP: Add tons of fresh dill. It really makes a difference. If you don’t like dill, GET OUT. Kidding…but c’mon, who doesn’t like dill?

I’ve been on a bit of a budget since I got back from my East Coast trip so I decided to make lentil soup. I find that lentils are often the butt of some hack vegan joke, but a bag dried lentils is bout four bucks and that ain’t no laughing matter! I had a leftover chicken bones in the freezer from a rotisserie chicken I had about a month ago (keep them bones!) and frozen green garlic stalks that I had bought at the farmers market about 2 months ago. I made a chicken stock using those ingredients as my base. I also added carrots, parsley, salt, pepper and low sodium powdered bouillon to give it a bit more flavour. After all, the bones were from a small chicken.  If you don’t have the ingredients to make your own stock, don’t fret! Use canned, powdered, carton or whatever you have on hand. Chicken or vegetable broth would work best.

After soaking my lentils overnight and cooking them for 20 minutes, I added them to my strained broth along with half a can of tomato paste, 1 tsp cayenne, 1 tsp cumin, 2 chopped carrots and more salt and pepper to taste. Serve with a squirt of hot sauce and you have a delicious hearty soup that costs less than 2 bucks per serving. YUM.