My Mama's Lentil Soup. From the Vegetarian Epicure by Anna Thomas

This soup is idiot-proof, cheap, and easy. It's good for students [like me!] because it takes three hours to cook and lasts forever in the freezer, which is good if you are on a budget. Plus, it's vegan.

When I was littler, my family and I lived on Government St, near Chinatown, and my mama would give the street people who lived below our building [our condo was above a hair salon] containers of this soup and hot toast. It's warm, filling, and delicious.

In a large pot, add:

2/3 cup dried lentils
4 cups of water
1 onion, chopped fine
4 carrots, chopped
2 stalks celery,chopped

Then, simmer it for three hours. Do not forget about your soup. Set your timer.

Sometime, your soup will get a little too thick, like more of a thick stew than a thick soup. Add some more water until it reaches whatever you consider to be a soup.

Then, add:

1 cup tomato paste [or two of those tiny cans]
garlic
thyme
tarragon

Voila. Your soup is finished. Serve with bread; my mama makes amazing focaccia to serve with this.

Spinach Ricotta Pie! Recipe From Mollie Katzen's Moosewood Cookbook!

I originally posted this two years ago in LiveJournal. This was the first dish I made for Kaydee upon her moving to Victoria this September. I actually improvised and used a cake pan for the baking dish, but I cannot insist enough that if you do not like ridiculously thick crust, please use a real pie pan.

Also, it lasted forever. I was eating slices of the pie-made-in-cake-pan for over a week and it still tasted amazing.

To make the crust, mix together six tablespoons butter or margarine with one and a half cups flour and four tablespoons milk, water, or buttermilk. Roll into circle. Press into pie pan. Set aside.

Alternatively, you could use pastry, which is what my momma does. It makes for a flakier, more decadent crust.

Preheat your oven to 375. Melt about a tablespoon of butter/margarine in a frying pan, and saute one cup of chopped onion for five minutes. Add one pound spinach [stemmed and chopped], half a teaspoon salt, a dash of pepper, one teaspoon basil, and garlic to taste [I use two cloves]. Cook over medium heat until spinach is wilted.

In a bowl, mix together one pound ricotta cheese, three eggs, three tablespoons flour, and half a cup grated sharp cheese. Add the mixture from the frying pan, and spread evenly into pie pan.

Katzen recommends covering the pie with a topping of sour cream, then dusting with paprika. I have never done this, nor has anyone I know, but you could always try it.

Bake for 40-45 minutes. Please, let it set for a few minutes after you take it out of the oven; otherwise you will be serving glorified scrambled eggs with a delicious crust. This tastes delicious hot, cold, or at room temperature.

Introduction

"Why create another blog?" Kaitlin asked me today.

It's true, I do have a LiveJournal that I update with alarming frequency, and have done so for the past four and a half years. But it's friends only, if only to protect the innocent from reading all that I wrote when I was an obnoxious fifteen year old quasi-punk kid who had more in common with the emos than anything else. At this point in my blogging career [if it can be called that], various family members have expressed annoyance at their inability to look at mine due to the aforementioned friends-only lock.

On the other hand, I've been tossing around the idea of creating a zine, specifically about the intersections of kitchens and feminism, with a hearty sprinkling of culture analysis. To explain why this is relevant to me is to explain my identity, so I shall do so now.

I'm a half East Indian, half Irish-Canadian femme currently inhabiting the Pacific Northwest of Canada. Both sides of my family have roots in Saskatchewan, the heart of Canada's prairie lands. I spent my childhood sampling foods from various different regions, and started finding myself helping out my momma in our kitchen in primary schools. My mom's side is traditionally vegetarian, and my dad's side is traditionally anti-tofu, so I had a well rounded palate as a kid.

Currently, I'm a student at the University of Victoria, primarily focusing on English and History, albeit with a Women's Studies perspective. I'm interested in the way that culture affects people, mostly women and children. From my research and from my own matriarch headed household experience, I feel that it is possible to be an empowered woman residing in the kitchen,doing traditionally feminine things. For all of my women's studies courses, pride activities, and NDP leanings, I still hail buses in skirts and heels with girly hair and makeup. Families congregate in many kitchens, food is prepared, current events are discussed, and trends come and pass as well. In my house, I live with two gluten-free roomies, and many of my friends are either vegetarian or vegan. As well, I try to eat as locally as possible.

That's about it for me! If you're reading this, it'd be awesome if you left a note saying who you are so I know who's reading.

Happy kitchen adventures!
xoxo
Kirie