Sweet Potato Parsnip Lentil Soup with Warming Spices & Sage

        Last night I made the best soup I think I've ever made.  I have no pictures because it didn't last long enough to get any!  Plus it wasn't the most beautiful colour, but it was the most beautiful taste!  I used homemade chicken broth from a home-grown chicken we got from my in-laws.  I only had about half the carcass and it made about 12 cups of broth which I froze in 4 cup portions.  I didn't use a recipe, but here's roughly what I did:

2 med. onions, chopped
1 tbsp butter
1 large sweet potatoes, chopped into bit-size pieces
4-5 parsnips, chopped
4-8 cups broth (I used 4 c broth and added 4 c water to stretch out my tiny broth stash)
2 cups red lentils
2 tbsp dried sage
1 1/2 tbsp cinnamon
1 tbsp sea salt
2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves

1. Sautee onions in butter till translucent.
2. Add sweet potatoes and parsnips.
3. Cover with broth.
4. Add lentils and spices & sage, bring to a boil and then simmer till veggies and lentils are soft, about 25 mins, longer if you want a thicker, stew-like consistency.

        We just ate this by itself, mainly because I didn't get my act together far enough ahead of time to make anything to go with it, but it was definitely hearty enough to stand on it's own as a main course.  We each had a second helping, though not because were still hungry, but because it was so good!

        Usually my food turns out pretty well when I just "wing it," but the patron saint of soup makers must have been praying for me yesterday because it turned out better than I ever could have hoped for!

Our newest furniture installation.  We found this beauty on the side of the road, but it was not so pretty till Chris scraped several layers of ugly varnish and paint off it.  He finished it with an olive oil & beeswax mix.  The bottom drawer is for Rowan's toys, and the others are home (finally) for our table cloths, napkins, crafting supplies and board games.  It's also where we keep the Advent wreath during non-dinner time so Rowan can't dismantle it.