too cold

Minus 40… yes -40… and today was the day to line up outside to get the dog’s meat. The air was so cold it hurt and the wind whipped it into every crevice of my coat and pants. Luckily the meat guy was on time so the wait wasn't too long. We were glad when we had the 280lbs of frozen meat tucked into the car.

It is time for this cold snap to end, although who’s to say that the freezing rain we got at the beginning of January the previous two years is any better. We’ve had a vivid reminder of what ice can bring - the news has been bringing flashbacks to 1998’s (that’s 20 years ago now) ice storm when we were out of power for 9 long days. So maybe the cold is okay, for us anyway.

Aside from a quick run into Costco for some groceries we came straight home, the feeling of warmth and safety of home like a salve for frozen fingers. I quickly got to work and got a pot of soup into the instant pot for a hot lunch. It’s a lentil soup so it takes a bit longer to cook (I like the lentils to break down into a thick broth), but it should be done in less than an hour. Three hot peppers will make sure it warms us.

Tomato lentil soup: dice 1 large onion, a few cloves of garlic, 3 little hot red peppers. Saute until soft. Add 1 tsp of cumin and stir for a minute. Add 1 can diced tomatoes, 1 ¼ cups rinsed lentils, 4 cups of chicken broth, enough water to bring the level to just over 6 cups. Cover and set IP to manual for 25 min, NR, whir up with immersion blender. Couldn’t be easier! I made the same recipe a few days ago and when I asked Carm what kind to make today he said the exact same soup. I’m writing it down here cause I’m sure to forget it.

p.s. the soup turned out great

“It's too cold outside for angels to fly.”
~Ed Sheeran