Lilly and Lentils

It's about time we introduce Ms. Sour Puss to you, aka Lilly. I found her like this on my bed one morning last week. A prize goes to anyone who can find her face.
On a tastier note, I made easily-vegan Curried Lentil Soup last night. I followed the voices in my head when I made it, but here's approximately what I did:

Dice 1 small onion, and saute in olive oil for a few minutes, until soft but not brown. Add 2 large cloves garlic, sliced, and 3 carrots, sliced, and turn up the heat slightly to brown the onions/garlic and start to cook the carrot. Throw in 1.3 cups lentils (I measured out a cup, but then decided it needed another handful, hence the .3 c.) and another splash of olive oil. Add two handfuls of garam masala powder (5 T. maybe??) and stir around for a minute or two. Next add 1 small can or about half of a large can of diced tomatoes (fire-roasted works well) and about 7 cups of stock (chicken, beef, turkey, mushroom, or some combination) or equivalent water and some broth powder. Simmer for about an hour, or transfer everything to a Crock Pot and leave it all day. Check periodically to make sure that you're getting curried lentil SOUP instead of just curried lentils. (Or reduce the liquid to about 3 cups and forget about making it into soup.)

Other good additions would be: mushrooms in with the onions (and some butter, of course) or leeks or celery or potatoes or any other soup vegetables you've got on hand. If you want plain lentil soup, leave out the curry and instead add 2 bay leaves, 2 pinches of thyme, and some black pepper. Easier than pie!

Not a bad pairing with a glass of merlot (somehow), and the notes from my senior honors thesis defense make a great placemat!

Also, today was the first Wednesday of the Carrboro Farmers' Market, and I got a free squash seedling. Sorry about the picture quality today, by the way.