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This is not the official start of my Soup Seasonal Book Recs series, but it is the start of it being officially a blog series, and I’m excited!
Today’s recommendation is Tis the Season for Revenge by Morgan Elizabeth.
Today’s soup recipe is Vegetable Lentil soup adapted from The Flavour of Kitchen
Synopsis by Stephanie
In my own words, let me run down how this book made me feel.
Immediately, I loved the FMC. (Female main character) Abbey is relatable, kind, but also has lost sight of who she is in hopes of landing what she assumed was her perfect man. Her boyfriend, Richard, has systematically ripped her down, emotionally and verbally abusing her, making her feel like her worth was in how he saw her and resulted in her gaining his approval. Side note: you cannot please someone with that mindset. Run, bestie.
Abbey has an idea in her head of the perfect life and relationship, and she believes that Richard was endgame for her. Guys, she dyed her hair for this man. I hate him so much.
Richard dumps her and it ends up being the best thing he could’ve ever done for our bestie, Abbey. She enters this next phase of life with her only goals being to reconnect with who she truly is and what makes her happy and get revenge.
Tropes & Favorite Things
- Age gap
- He falls first
- Dirty talk king
- Hand Necklaces
- No slow burn
- Who did this to you (emotionally)
- “Mine”
- “Good Girl”
- Phone schmex scene
- NO third-act breakup
This book screamed its way to claim a spot as one of my Top Reads of 2022. It is SO good and Damien Martinez is a book boyfriend to write home about. I have NO romcom book boyfriends in my top 5 but Damien has officially changed that. 10/10 highly recommend meeting Damien.
Vegetable Lentil Soup
Equipment
- dutch oven
Ingredients
- 2 TBSP Olive oil
- 1 Medium Onion
- 5 TBSP Garlic, minced original recipe calls for 1 TBSP but I use a lot of garlic
- 1 Cup Brown lentils
- 2 Carrots, chopped
- 1 14 oz can tomatoes
- 2 TSP Italian seasoning
- 5-8 Cups Vegetable stock
- 1 Red bell pepper, chopped
- 1 Medium Zucchini, chopped
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Rinse the lentils, drain water, set aside
- Heat oil in a dutch oven. Add minced garlic and chopped onion. Saute until translucent and fragrent
- Add chopped celery and chopped carrot. Saute for 1-2 minutes or until slightly soft and the mixture is fragrent
- Stir in rinsed lentil and 2-3 cups of vegetable stock to the pot. Add italian seasoning, salt and pepper
- Once the mixture comes to a boil, lower the heat and cover, allowing it to cook for about 30 minutes
- After 30 minutes, stir in the tomatoes, zucchini, and chopped red pepper. Mix well
- Add more vegetable stock if needed
- Cover and cook for another 15-20 minutes
- After cooking time, lentils and vegetables should be soft and tender
- If you prefer a creamy soup, you can now blend or mash your vegetables and lentils. I kept my soup chunky and prefer mine that way.
