Lentil Soup and Winter Salad

A perfect winter meal. This salad makes me happy. Like happy pills, but delicious, and in a bowl. And good for you.

Lentil Soup:

I used slab bacon, with i sliced and sauteed. If you are not a meat eater, just use olive oil.
Add 1 chopped onion, 2 cloves chopped garlic, and 1 large chopped carrot. Cook until the onion is translucent.
Add 2 C. green lentils and 4-6 C. chicken or vegetable broth, along with:
Salt + pepper
1 t. toasted whole cumin seeds (just toast in a dry pan),
a dash of cayenne pepper

Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and cover, simmering for 1-1 1/2 hours.
Use an immersion blender or a traditional blender to puree and then add more liquid as necessary. Mmmm.

Winter Salad:

Combine in a bowl in this order:
a handful of dried cherries or cranberries
a peeled chopped orange
a handful of thinly sliced fennel
a handful of roughly chopped walnuts (you can candy these by sauteeing with butter and brown sugar for a special occasion)

let sit for a bit and then toss with lettuce, chopped avocado and the juice of either an orange or lemon, olilve oil, s+p. or make a dressing:
orange juice
honey
white balsamic
s+p
olive oil