winter scene with lentil soup

I hadn't talked to Isabel for more than a year, but when she called the other day and asked if she could visit this weekend, I was thrilled. Before she came, I bought a new shower curtain for the guest bathroom and found a very old and rusted can of paint in the basement so I could touch up a couple of smudgy spots on the wall. Then I made lentil soup.

I had practically begged Beck, whose culinary skills are the toast of several continents, to give me a recipe and I found this one on her recipe blog, though I'm sure she has others. I substituted tofu "breakfast links" for the sausage and carrots for the spinach and (because I was too lazy to go to the store) used a tiny little can of tomato paste instead of the recommended large can of diced tomatoes. When the soup was almost done, I added half a handful of dried thyme. Then I lit a candle and cut slices from a loaf of French bread, scattering crumbs all over the floor, and Isabel and I sat in the kitchen eating bowls of lentil soups and talking about the way the ice in the backyard shimmered palely in the darkness of the late afternoon.