Guest Post: Thai Sweet Potato and Lentil Soup

Today I introduce to you my first guest blogger, Vron.  Last week she and I had a cross-country Virtual Dinner Party, which despite the three hour time zone difference, was an incredible hit and so much fun.  Vron and I were both without our Sous Chefs in the kitchen, and we more than made up for it with cocktails, fun recipes, and great conversation (through the computer screen)!  Here is Vron's take on our night:

I made Thai Sweet Potato and Lentil Soup a nights ago while on facetime with Sarah! It was so fun! And also I would say that I had three drinks (a glass of wine and a double-strength banana pina colada) which doesn't count as drinking alone because Sarah and I were “together,” or at least connected via the interwebs.

Sarah joked that I didn't follow the recipe at all (I beg to differ), but here is the original recipe pasted below with my mods:

Ingredients

• 1 cup lentils, rinsed 
• 4 cups vegetable broth (I used about 5) 
• 2 medium sweet potatoes, unpeeled and diced. 
• 1 teaspoon turmeric (I used about 1 tsp of curry and 1 tsp of cumin because I didn't have turmeric and was lazy)
• 3 tablespoons oil 
• 2 cloves garlic, minced 
• 1/2 onion, thinly sliced (A whole onion)
• 1/2 head green cabbage, thinly shredded  (about ¾ pounds of baby spinach and 1 package of frozen spinach)
• 2 jalapenos, ribs and seeds removed, minced (to be fair I WAS going to use this, but then there were no jalapenos in the store, so I used a Sarah/Vron favorite of chili garlic sauce instead)
• 2 teaspoons fresh minced ginger (I forgot to add this! And I actually bought it! Ugh.)
• 14.5 ounce can fire roasted tomatoes 
• 2/3 cup regular coconut milk 
• salt to taste 

Instructions

1. Pour lentils, broth, and sweet potatoes into a large pot. Bring to a boil and then simmer on low for 30-45 minutes, or until lentils and sweet potatoes are just barely done cooking.  Add the turmeric, tomatoes and ginger to the pot and cook for another 10 minutes. 
2. Heat the oil and butter in a large skillet. Add garlic, onions, and jalapenos chili garlic sauce. Saute for 2-3 minutes. Add the cabbage baby spinach and cook for 10 minutes, or until cabbage baby spinach is cooked through. 
3. Add cabbage baby spinach (and the package of frozen spinach) to lentil pot and stir in coconut milk. Top with cilantro. 

Notes: 

I thought it was good, though it would definitely have been better with the ginger, which I HAVE IN MY HOUSE and am totally bitter about not having remembered.  I also think the turmeric would have worked better than curry/cumin, but it was still delicious. 

Also one can of coconut milk is way more than you need for this recipe, which is why I ended up drinking it with rum and banana in pina colada form!

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Thanks to Vron, I have a new recipe I'd like to try...I had been looking recently for one with coconut milk that did not require 18 other random ingredients I don't have (and I have a lot of Asian ingredients).  

Also, doesn't her Pina Colada-inspired cocktail sound refreshing?  

Thank you, Vron, for the inspiration and guest post!

I think Virtual Dinner Party should become a permanent feature.  Who would like to be my next guest of honor?