Focaccia with Olives and Rosemary along with Lentil Vegetable Soup

Focaccia with Olives and Rosemary Lentil Vegetable Soup

I have things to do, places to go , people to see!! My FFH(firefighter husband) was out of state for 4 long nights, and 5 days. I had to promise him I would not use any battery operated machinery while he was away. Tough freaking promise, but I did it. Even with all that late night phone se.. conversation talk, I did not break out the equipment. Why.. you may wonder.. or maybe you don't wonder, I don't care... but I will say this.. It makes for one helluva reunion.

Not only does abstinence make the heart grow fonder, it makes you both ummm, for lack of a politically correct word, dare I say it, hornier. He is due back home in a few hours. I can't wait, ....I'm so excited, I just can't hide, I don't want to lose control, but I think HE'LL like it...Oh Yeah!..SO.... preparations have to be made. And I only have a small window of time to accomplish my humble tasks. What do you DO when preparing for the arrival of an absent husband? This is what I do.

• First thing I do is remove the children from the home. Get lost, good bye, see ya. I love my children, love them, but a woman needs what a woman needs, and a womans gotta do, what a womans gotta do.
• Which brings me to this ... quickly go to Brazil. OH MY, you just have to visit Brazil once in your life, the effect it has on your spouse is so worth the pain. No pain, no gain. Holds true not just in working out, you know. I know half of you probably just went ouch..
• Go over your belly dance routine just one more time. Do it sans clothes in front of your mirror, just for kicks.
• Do a quick get rid of the grays rinse. Not that I have any...
• Have your toenails painted.. Get a pedicure. Tell the tech no, no thank you, but no happy ending today, you're saving it up. Everybody does save it up sometimes , do they not?
• Have the drinks on ice ,baby.
• Make sure what you're wearing is edible.
• Dim all the lights , sweet darling, cus tonight its all the way.
• Even though he is the one that went on a trip, buy him a special souvenir that you both can enjoy.
• Tell the neighbor across the way what's going on so he can have his binoculars ready.
• Wait by the open door, with a banjo in your hand singing Oh Susanna..

Try these tips. Let me know yours. You will know my tips work when you see that it is NOT a banana in your FFH's pocket. But that he IS happy to see you..

Let's begin with the Lentil and Vegetable Soup, shall we? This is Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa's recipe and it is just wonderful. It makes loads and freezes well. I am using this soup for my Souper Sundays entry.

You can read all about Souper Sundays here. Deb, from Hawaii, runs this fun event weekly, and to enter all you have to do is send her your soup, any soup, and it doesn't have to be every week, just whenever you make a soup.. so no pressure. It's a wonderful thing and so is she! To begin our soup, put your lentils in a large bowl and cover them with boiling water for about 15 minutes. Drain.

Get your veggies together.

Chop up your onions , leeks, and garlic.

Put them in a large stockpot, on medium heat, and saute them with olive oil, salt, pepper, thyme, and cumin.

Oh for about 20 minutes, until translucent and tender,

that's about right. Meanwhile, chop up your celery, and carrots,

then add them to the mix and saute another 10 minutes or so.

Shake your booty a few times. Shake, Shake, shake your booty. C'mon, shake , shake.. Now add your chicken stock, tomato paste, and the drained lentils to the pot.

Cover pot and bring to a boil. Reduce your heat and simmer for 1 hour, undressed, I mean uncovered. 5 hours, Ive got 5 hours. Deep breath, deep breath, deep throat, deep throat. Check your seasonings.

Add some red wine and mix. Serve in a bowl,

hot, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with grated parm, if you so desire.

So very good for you. Loaded with the veggies. However, I must give you the same warning I gave you about the stuffed cabbage soup.. tooting by the FFH is inevitable with this meal. That is why I served it to him right before he got on the plane. I thought it would make for an interesting flight for him. And for his flight neighbor. That'll be a real conversation starter. I mean it's not like he can say, oh, its the dog, or it's the catalytic converter, or the best, mommy did it. Ain't gonna fly, FFH, that ain't gonna fly, fighter of flames. Either deal with the cramps or or let loose with your SBDs(silent but deadlys) and hope for the best. You can thank me later.

To accompany my soup, I made Focaccia with Olives and Rosemary. It is originally from Bon Appetit 1995,and can be found here. However, Linda gave me this recipe. I use her adaptations which are impeccable. Do you know Linda? If not, you better, I mean, better go meet her. You Don't know what you're missing... You will LOVE her food. I have "known" her for a few years, and I have and continue to use MANY of her recipes. She has NEVER not once let me down. They are all "asked fors" and "keepers". Like me, She just started blogging a few months back. Her blog is How To Cook a Wolf. Do I really have to share her?

Onto business, this focaccia is wonderful, and its the perfect accompaniment to this bean soup, IMVHO. Put 2 cups of warm water (105-115) in a large bowl. Get your yeast (I used a whole packet) and sprinkle it over the water;

stir with a fork. Let stand till yeast dissolves, about 10 minutes. Now add your flour and your salt to the yeast mixture.

Stir to blend well.. it Will be sticky. Sticky rhymes with picky, icky, hickey, licky, dicky. Now you can either knead the dough for 10 minutes or use your kitchen aid, I used the KA.

With the dough hook attachment. Just look at that baby move. Move, babay, move. Burn, baby, Burn. Don't you love electronic or battery operated devices that come with all sorts of attachments? I surely do. You can add some extra tablespoons of flour if dough is too sticky. Form dough into ball. Oil a large bowl. ; add your dough and turn to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in warm area till doubled about 1 1/2 hours.

Now, Punch down the dough; knead it into a ball and return to same bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let risein warm area until doubled, about 45 minutes or less.

Coat a 15 x 10 inch baking sheet with 1 tablespoon oil.. I used parchment paper, with the tablespoon of oil on that, as per Miss Linda. Punch down your dough. (All this punching.. I so like it.. I pretend I'm teaching a kickboxing class.) Transfer it to prepared sheet and using your fingertips press it into a 13 x 10 rectangle. Let it rest for 10 minutes. It worked hard, you know. Drizzle 2 tablespoons oil over top. Then top with your toppings. I chose

and some red pepper flakes, freshly ground black pepper, and scant sea salt. I chopped the Kalamata olives and sliced the grape tomatoes, shredded the Parmesan cheese. I wanted to use Campari tomatoes, however, cheap ass Pollock that I am I just couldn't justify it for $8.00 and for the small container. After topping your focaccia,

let it rest yet again for 25 minutes, uncovered in a warm area until puffy. Preheat your oven to 475. Press your fingertips all over the dough, forming indentations. Bake bread until brown and crusty about 20 minutes.

Serve warm or at room temp.

It is delicious, and it is such a nice dough to work with.

Think I could submit this to Yeastspotting? It's been real, but I gotta go. Brazil awaits. He's coming home.. Hurry FFH.. I missed you, your firefighter boots are waiting in the driveway. Just this once, please.