Curried Pumpkin & Spicy Green Lentil Soup

Sleeping.

Every health magazine says it’s good for you.  But apparently sleep cleans your brain, too.  Think of it this way:  The brain is an aquarium and if your fish tank isn’t clean your brain cells will die.

If that’s the case, my brain is a murky swamp.

Anyone who has ever drizzled, doused or — heck — drenched their food with hot sauce knows it can make almost any dish taste better.

But why do these spicy peppers burn so bad yet feel so good?  They trick our minds and our nervous systems.  Consuming spicy foods target our pain sensors because our tongues feel like they’ve touched something hot and caught fire…  But then they release endorphins and we feel happy again.

Tricky.

Cue:  Spicy Pumpkin & Green Lentil Soup.  Talk about the ultimate pain relief power.  Okay, so this soup looks visibly terrible.  But hey, you try making a puke-colored dish look phenomenal.

A reader made a comment that my blog has recently been seriously carbo-loaded.  So let’s mix it up.  The soup is thick, yet light.  Spicy, yet refreshing.  Hot, yet…  Cold?  It’s healthy, detoxifying, and just happens to be vegan and gluten-free, if you’re in to that sort of thing.

Curried Pumpkin & Spicy Green Lentil Soup

(yields 4-6 servings)

INGREDIENTS:

1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced

2 Goats Weed chili peppers, minced

2 garlic cloves, finely minced

1/2 cup green lentils, rinsed and well drained

1 tablespoon olive oil

salt and pepper, to taste

1 tablespoon curry powder

1 32-oz box (4 cups) of vegetable stock

1 15-oz can pumpkin puree

a sprinkle of nutmeg

PREPARATION:

In a large dutch oven, cook lentils over 1 cup water according to boxed directions.  Meanwhile, add olive oil to a medium skillet.  Cook, garlic, bell pepper, and chili peppers over medium-low heat for 5 minutes.

Add sauteed pepper mixture to dutch oven once lentils are cooked.  Stir in pumpkin puree, vegetable stock, and curry powder.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, for 25 minutes or until lentils are tender.

Garnish with a bit of fresh grated nutmeg (or a sprinkle of dried ground nutmeg).  Enjoy!