Soup journal: Red lentil, Oxtail

Well, winter's nearly over, but I've had a lot of fun making different soups this year. For the most part, I've put them in my crockpot as I've gone about my business, cleaning house on my day off or working.

Here are a couple of my favorites below.

Red lentil soup (from www.nytimes.com) is a healthy vegetarian soup.

I made oxtail soup last week based on this recipe from www.cooks.com. I did deviate slightly, though. Cooks.com is great because it has a whole section of crockpot recipes.

Here's my version I made in my SMART crockpot.

Oxtail soup

4 ox tail pieces
3 tbsps butter
1 cup red wine
2 bay leaves
1 garlic clove
1.5 qts. water + 1 can beef broth
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
1 onion, chopped
6 large carrots, chopped

Saute ox tails in three tablespoons butter until browned. Pour in one cup red wine (I used burgundy) and simmer in covered frying pan for 10 minutes.

NOTE: I also browned the onions in the same skillet used for browning the oxtails. Add all other ingredients and cook in crockpot 4-5 hours.

Cook until done. (Optional: add 1 teaspoon sugar to enhance flavor.) Remove meat from oxtails when soup is done. This soup is even better the next day, and it's easier to skim off fat when cold.

Serve with your favorite crusty bread or cornbread.