Burgers!

I made another no-effort but delicious soup this weekend.

Now that the soup has thickened up I've decided to make burgers. I added some bread crumbs and nutritional yeast and as I type these beauties are fryin' in my new cast iron frying pan. I can't wait to dig into one.

Incidentally, I've decided to ditch my non-stick frying pan for good. I stir fry nearly every day, and I've read too much about the dangers of non-stick pans. So I'm alternating between stainless steel and the cast iron. I really like how the cast iron pan heats so evenly. And I found this great site which details how best to care for it.

Okay, it's burger time!

Simple, wholesome autumn soup

One of the best things about autumn is the crisp dry air that signals the end of summer and the coming of winter. I love this time of year and today was a spectacular fall day in Boston.

The coming of fall also means that my trusty crock pot -- furloughed for the summer under the wooden kitchen cart -- gets to again spread its wings and fly.

I was at Trader Joe's earlier today looking for some hearty root vegetables for a "semi-homemade" soup I have planned for tomorrow. Nothing caught my eye so I picked up some boxed soups and decided to whip together a simple meal that will cook tomorrow while I'm at work.

This soup is hopelessly easy to make. Just mix the following together in a crock pot:

* One 32 oz box of Trader Joe's Garden Patch Veggie Soup

* One 32 oz box of Trader Joe's Organic Vegetable Broth

* 1/2 cup dried lentils

* For small red potatoes, diced

* One small red onion, chopped

* 3-5 cloves of fresh garlic

* 1/2 cup chopped button mushrooms (optional)

* Salt and paper to taste

Cook for 5-8 hours on the low setting, sprinkle on some nutritional yeast and enjoy!