Letty & I in Catalina, 2002

My mother-in-law, Letty, is a phenomenal cook. I mentioned her briefly awhile ago, but expect to read more about her and benefit from her amazing collection of original recipes as this blog develops over time. Everything she makes is of the highest quality and one of the more delicious things you’ve ever tasted. The only problem with trying to make her dishes is that she doesn’t quite know how to tell you what she did to create them. Several times, I’ve asked her for recipes and she does her best to tell me her procedures, but she always inadvertently leaves out some key steps or even essential ingredients. I guess this is what happens when you cook by feel and expertise and experience, rather than by blindly following recipes.

As a daughter-in-law, I earn a lot of brownie points with Letty because I’ve taken a great interest in her cooking. If you’re a daughter-in-law, then you know how important points are with your husband’s mom! For years, she and I have discussed how best to collect and share her secret time-tested recipes. We talked about publishing a book. But you’ll be excited to know that she has given me her enthusiastic blessing to share her treasured tricks right here on my blog. In fact, she’s quite excited about the bloggy fame that is going to come her way through this endeavor. I’m even going to give her a special section in my blog and it will be called Letty’s Legacy. Oh man, I am just piling on the points right now!!!

Since Letty doesn’t cook from recipes and she can’t quite tell you precisely what she does to work her magic, the only way I can get the true instructions is to watch her in action. But even then, there can be some guesswork and estimation involved. If you’re the type of person who likes to follow a recipe to the letter, like me, then you might be frustrated by some of the vagueness of the recipes. But I am going to do my best to nail down the specifics. But this extra investigation time might mean that I can only share one recipe per month. But the payoff for this collection will be priceless.

The first recipe for the fabulous new Letty’s Legacy section is for her Famous Lentil Soup. It’s delicious, easy, comforting, super-healthy, and best of all, I almost always have every ingredient on hand. An added bonus is that it makes a ton of soup in almost no time.

When I first asked Letty for this recipe, she gave it to me with her best efforts to be thorough and correct. But I made it three times and it turned out absolutely crappy every time! In fact, so crappy that I threw each batch out immediately! But then my husband’s cousin’s wife Pam mentioned to me that she loved making Letty’s lentil soup all the time. I was like, “What?!?!? How did you get a recipe out of her that actually worked?” It kind of depends on what day you ask her, I guess. Anyway, Pam emailed me the recipe she’d been using, which I have copied for you below.

Letty served this soup last week during the High Holidays and it looked totally different than it does when I make it. So she must be doing something new again. If you want to benefit from Letty’s amazing culinary talents, then you can’t get frustrated by the uncertainties and variations. You just have to learn to enjoy them and go with the flow. After all, the best cooks aren’t slaves to recipes, right?

Congratulations, Letty, on getting your own section on Zen Foodism!

This is what it looks like when Letty makes it…

Letty’s Famous Lentil Soup
Makes a lot!

• Wash 3 cups of red lentils thoroughly until water comes out clear.
• In large soup pot with 3 tablespoons of olive oil sauté one whole onion, diced and 6 cloves of minced garlic. Be careful not to burn the garlic!
• Throw lentils in pot with garlic and onion.
• Add one can chicken broth (or enough broth to cover the onions and lentils) and let boil until liquid is absorbed.
• Add 4 additional cans of chicken broth.
• Add one heaping tablespoon of curry and one teaspoon of cumin (dissolve in small amount of liquid before adding to the pot).
• Add one cube of chicken flavoring or 1 tablespoon of Knorr Swissa.
• Add one cup barley to lentils Simmer soup for one hour, adding more liquid as needed (Consistency should not be too thick or too thin).
• Add dash of cayenne pepper.
• Right before serving add juice of one lemon.
• Add one head of chopped cilantro.

Notes:

• Use the biggest pot you have because this makes a lot! But don’t worry - it tastes better the day or two after you make it and it freezes well.
• You can also add chopped red bell pepper to the onions before you add the lentils.