Soupermom and I were chatting the other day about how much we love lentils and apricots. There, we said it. We love, love, love that flavor combination. So we thought recently, what else can we do with this concept? I then jumped out of my seat and said – PUREE!! We’ll make a pureed soup!!!! She looked at me and said, “Sit down, and pretend you never said that. It is too crazy. It is madness. We will pretend you never spoke those words.” “NO!” I replied. “We can do it!! Think about it. We’ll have the wonderful sweet flavors of the apricots immersed completely with the rustic red lentils. How soothing is THAT on an autumn’s night??” She pondered it for a moment and said, “Fine. We’ll do it. But I think the world will subsequently go mad.” I decided not to point out that we’re just talking about soup. I mean, let’s keep it in perspective here. But then we went outside, and the sky was falling, and cats were marrying dogs, and DC suddenly had a vote. Total and complete chaos. All from this soup. I should listen to my mother more often.

Aaaah new years. A time of fresh resolutions – and this year is going to be different. I know you can do it! You’ll lose weight, call your mother more often, and stop picking at your fingernails and finally let them grow. Good for you! To help you along, Soupergirl is offering a resolution you can definitely keep. Eat more soup. This week’s offering is perfect for a cold new years day. On January 1, we all crave some serious comfort food, and this one ranks up there with a warm bowl of steaming mashed potatoes, except without all the empty carbs and butter. We take some deliciously sweet root vegetables, cook them up until they are tender and soft, and puree them into smoothy perfection. This soup is light and delicate on the palette, yet soul-warming and rich in natural flavors. This new years don’t be afraid to fall in love…with soup.

Recently,  I gave some of this soup to my brother. He liked it so much he started to cry a little. I thought this was weird because he’s 35 years old and there are more important things to cry over than good soup. But his tears made a good point. This soup is quite simply divine. Heavenly, if you will. The local pears and parsnips dance together in the bowl like Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire in some 1940′s movie that you always see clips of on public television. The cinnamon and allspice are the ultimate autumn flavors that make you want to forget your worries and dance in a pile of leaves with glee!! We puree it all up to silky smoothness. Don’t be embarrassed if you cry a little when you eat it. That precedent has already been set.