25 April 2006

Bread-Bowl Sloppy Lentils

I had soup in a bread-bowl last week for the very first time in my life. Even as a vegetarian who ate dairy most of her life, I never liked creamy soups, such as cream-of-broccoli or along those lines. In that case, most of the bread-bowls I've ever seen had nasty soups like that in it.

I had the Curried Rice and Lentil soup in a Sourdough bread-bowl at the WildFlower Bread Company last week. I was sitting with Ray staring down at this amazing idea. Soup in a bowl that you get to eat, what a concept! Plus, I was enjoying eating "the bowl" while I ripped off pieces of bread to dip in the soup. As we're eating Ray said, "this would be perfect for Sloppy Lenties". Boy, he was right!

For the last few day's I've been dreaming about my own personal bread-bowl at home. I planned on having small rolls, which meant small bowls, maybe even 2 each! By the time we got to the store for the rolls, it was late and the bread selection was slim. We opted for the cheapest, yet HUGE rosemary-garlic whole wheat breads that ended up being way too much food. See how big these bowls are?
We could have easily shared one roll, but that would have defeated the purpose of the bread bowl. We also could have waited to eat this idea until smaller rolls were at the store again, but I don't know what was wrong with us! I ended up feeding our whole neighborhood of birds with the leftover bread (while feeling guilty about hungry humans). I'm sure some other animals/living beings ate it too. Overall, Sloppy Lentils in a bread-bowl, no matter how HUGE, is awesome!

I made Sloppy Lentils the same way I always do (see other posts). This time I bought "red kale" which is actually purple and I have no idea why I have never bought this before. It's so much prettier and most likely healthier since it has the deep purples and greens. I think I'll keep buying this kind, at least for a while.
I even ate the stems... how couldn't I, they're so vibrant with purpleness.
Guess who loves to mooch? Yep, an appearance by Killian once again. He was super-happy when this piece of just-washed kale went flying out of my hands, onto the floor. He's super-cute eating his greens.
What a pig. I mean, cat.

10 comments:

Julie said...

How fun! I've never eaten soup from a bread bowl...I should try it sometime. Oh, and Killian is the cutest!

Shawn Powers said...

I have to try giving our kitty some kale!

I had a bread bowl soup once from a Panera Bread store -- and the shell was so hard, I wasn't sure if I was really supposed to eat it or not!

I agree with Ray, a bread bowl is a perfect companion to Sloppy Lenties. I still have some frozen from our last batch (which I made with turnip greens instead of kale, because kale wasn't available -- I won't do that again though, the flavor was too strong), I'll have to get a big roll and thaw those babies out.

You've started a popular blog/podcast theme with Killian! Like I said on my blog, thanks again for the feedback about the podcasts. It's uncharted territory for me, that's for sure.

Vicki's Vegan Vice said...

Your bread bowls look fantastic! & Killian eating kale?! Cool cat. I've also seen bread hollowed out for dips. I love food where you eat the whole thing (tacos, ice-cream cones, soup bowls!)

KleoPatra said...

Soup in a bread bowl... something i have been "jonesing" for almost my entire life. Now i see it can be done, and done WELL, vegan-style. THANKS!

Dreena said...

I love the 'bread in a bowl' thing, but like you, I haven't had it either! I think small rolls is a fantastic idea, because those bigger bowls are probably about 4-6 servings of bread??!

Red/purple kale is delightful, isn't it? Did you notice it smelled a little floral? I have bought it a few times and thought "hmm, where is that beautiful fragrance coming from?", and it was the kale. Next time I'll pop it in a vase - ha!

Um, maybe if I throw my kale on the floor my KIDS would eat it too!!! :)

Dori said...

I've never seen purple kale. I happened to stop by your blog this morning and saw the bread bowl. I picked up a "bowl" at Panera this afternoon. I love the way the crust crackles. I put some tomato soup in my bowl (after I took out all the inside fluff, I like the crusty part the best.

Wide Lawns said...

Wow your cat looks just like mine! Very cute.My cat is a vegetarian too and I bet she would love kale. I dont like it so Ive never given it to her. Maybe I should try. And in case it causes controversy, my cats vegetarianism is her own choice, not mine.

Eat Peace Please said...

Wide lawns, Killian is *not* vegetarian. He eats his food that has meat and I give him veggies on the side.

Flo @ Yielded Heart said...

I guess I asked the kale question too soon.

Aliyah likes bread bowls at Panera too. I have no idea how she could eat pretty much the whole thing, soup and all.

Killian is so cute and seems to enjoy the attention!

Harmonia said...

Hi again! Great pics! The bread bowls look fab!