Food for Thought, Nature

A Satisfying Sunday

61 Comments

Sunday was one of those happy days where everything just chugged along in a quiet but satisfying way. In the morning, we Zoomed with “the kids.” It’s always wonderful to see their faces, especially since we won’t be seeing them in person until next summer at the earliest.

After Zoom and lunch, I made a lentil soup for our supper. My blogging friend Mr. Tootlepedal frequently makes lentil soup, and I vowed that as soon as the weather was cool enough, I would make some, too. Well, it’s October in Maine, and the weather is certainly cool enough now for lentil soup.

I follow a recipe from a Moosewood cookbook. I make modifications—that’s the kind of cook I am—but the results are always good. This soup that will be on a regular rotation for our supper until it gets too hot in the summer. Best yet, a serving size has a reasonable amount of carbs. It’s a hearty and filling soup with lots of spices. Perfect for a cool, fall evening.

Back before I lost weight—about 30 pounds ago—making soup would have pretty much done my knees in, and I would have had to rest before doing anything else. But losing that weight has put a new spring in my step, and after cleaning the kitchen, I was ready to head outside for a fall chore.

What to do? How about rake the driveway? Because we live in the woods, this must be done regularly when fall comes.

Before:

And afterward:

When I was done, I went out back to sit on the patio—something I won’t be able to do much longer. Naturally, I took my camera with me, and I was able to snap a picture of this fine fellow.

I think it is a purple finch, but I know house finches look similar. Any thoughts, blogging friends?

For the past week, this finch and his mate have been coming with a gaggle of fledglings, and how I love to watch those youngsters flutter and beg for food from the adults. I always have tender feelings for fledglings who look full size but are still immature and uncertain.

Right now, their parents feed them, but the day will soon come when the parents decided that it is time for the fledglings to feed themselves and make their own way in this wild, beautiful, dangerous world.

It is the way of things. But nonetheless it makes me teary eyed to think about it.

 

61 thoughts on “A Satisfying Sunday”

  1. Your soup looks delicious! The wonderful aspect of a chore, such as raking the driveway, is that you can stand back afterwards and admire the results of your effort.

  2. Oh, it’s good to hear that others get teary eyed about the fledglings. I get that way, too, about the birds and now, watching the deer. One of the mothers has been chasing off a young buck, one of her offspring. That’s the way of things and it makes perfect sense, but I still feel sorry for the young one.

    Which Moosewood cookbook do you have? I love lentil soup and hadn’t thought to check my copy of Sundays at Moosewood to see what recipes they might have for lentils. Tomorrow I’m making lentil “baked beans” in the slow cooker. Apparently they are good as is or as Sloppy Joes.

    1. Oh, gosh! A mother chasing her young buck away. Yes, the way of things but still so sad.

      The Moosewood cookbook I have is “Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home: Fast and Easy Recipes for any Day.” It’s a really good cookbook, but then again, with Moosewood you can’t go wrong.

  3. I also feel that way about fledglings. Once you spend time observing birds, you can sense the apprehension of a young bird….very like our children going to school for the first time!
    Have a happy soup day!

  5. Such a sweet finch Laurie and I understand how you feel about fledgelings. They grow up so fast and it’s lovely to see them grow in confidence too 💜

  8. That soup looks amazing, Laurie!

    I’m with you re: purple finches and house finches. I can’t tell them apart unless I have a bird book right in front of me.

    Various fledglings have had me laughing this summer. They were as big as their parents but flapping an fussing like they do. The parent would feed them, and then, the fledgling would grab something for him or herself, making it perfectly obvious that they could feed themselves. Then they’d flap like they were starving. Really cute.

  10. I am glad that the soup turned out well or I would have felt guilty. The cleared drive looks good…until the next lot of leaves arrive. 🙂

      1. I’d be treasuring the leaves and chopping and bagging them with my mower. Which is a lot noisier and ecologically unsound. But makes awesome quick leafmold. I like the rustic country look of your driveway. Your soup looks delicious. Mr T inspired me to make leek and potato soup.

  14. I enjoy lentil soup, and in fact like soups of all kinds, but it’s still too hot to think about soup here. I did bake a dozen sweet potatoes tonight, despite being reluctant to turn on the oven. I do that many at once, then put the results in the freezer — where the extra soup will go, once I decide it’s time.

  17. The soup looks delicious. I’ve started making soup again, too, so satisfying on a cool day. I made kobucha squash soup last week, and Sunday was homemade chicken soup – I love the broth!
    Congrats again on the weight loss – your knees must be very happy. 🙂

  19. Soup weather here too! And like others who have commented I love a lentil one. Losing 30lbs must have done wonders for your knees. Those leaves look so pretty but of course once they go mushy they become slippery and dangerous. It is a job I need to do on my deck if it eventually stops raining!

  20. Your soup looks yummy and warm on these cooler New England evenings. Hope your feathered friends hang around a while although I must say our bird population has gone down dramatically in the last couple of weeks.

  23. Lentils are always part of traditional indian meals. They are the major source of proteins. Your’s look delicious. HAppy to see you are fit and fine 🙂
    Cheers to dieting and exercise than visiting doctors 👏👏👏.

  25. The main thing is that your fledglings are safe and you can still see each other. Online is a lifeline this year. We are the first age to have that comfort to help us through a plague-like crisis.

  26. Your soup looks delicious, Laurie, and it sure is soup season. I love my Moosewood cookbook (it pretty ragged now after decades of use). I’m glad you got outside to enjoy the fall weather. I miss my VT autumns and the beautiful leaves. Enjoy your soup!

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