05.17.09
Tourists in Their Own Town…
Croissants at Moonside Bakery in Half Moon Bay, CA - Photos by Cecilia
Summer is giving us a preview in the San Francisco area this weekend. I live on the coast so I’m more used to the fog and the cool ocean breeze year round. 70ºF plus weather is considered a heat wave around here. With this beautiful blessing, my husband Mo and I decided to play tourists and leisurely wandered from Half Moon Bay for breakfast, to San Francisco for some sightseeing and lunch, and home for dinner with an easy soup. We will leave the active agenda for Sunday.
French Burger at Le Zinc in San Francisco
We drove up to Twin Peaks Park for some fresh air and a sweeping view of San Francisco.
Bridge to Bridge, San Francisco
If you click on the above thumbnail and look closely, you can see both Golden Gate Bridge and Bay Bridge, the two famous bridges in San Francisco.
A relaxing day like this calls for an easy dinner. I chose a simple yet healthy French lentil soup, with a few tasty ingredients available in the pantry and the fridge. If you are a vegetarian, you can substitute the sausages with chunks of grilled tofu, or omit it altogether.
French Lentil Apple Soup, Home
French Lentil Soup with Apples
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
3 cups of French lentils
1 onion, finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
6-8 cups of low-sodium broth (vegetable or chicken)
1 Tbsp herbes de Provence
2 large ripe tomatoes, seeded and diced (or 1 can of diced tomatoes)
2 Tbsp sherry cooking wine or a dry white wine
2 chicken apple sausages, sliced
Parsley
3 Tbsp olive oil or some type of vegetable cooking oil
Optional: hot sauce
2 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper
- Rinse the lentils and remove any rocks or debris, drain.
- Heat 2 Tbsp of olive oil in a medium stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onion and minced garlic. Season with 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper. Sauté it for 3 minutes until translucent.
- Add the herbes de Provence. Stir it in for 2 minutes.
- Add the diced tomatoes. Add 1 tsp salt and pepper. Turn the heat up to high for 3 minutes until everything starts to steam.
- Pour in the cooking wine. Turn the heat down to medium. Stir thoroughly.
- Add the broth and turn the heat down to low. Cook for 30 minutes. Adjust the seasoning in the end as needed.
- Meanwhile, sauté some sausages on a separate skillet with some olive oil. Arrange a few slices on top of the soup when serving. Garnish the soup with a few shredded leaves of parsley.
- Drizzle a few drops of hot sauce on top as an option.
Cook often, eat well, and live it up!
