why I really like January
thoughts on resetting and a recipe for lentil soup with crispy chicken sausage
There’s this idea that the party’s over in January. It’s back to work after the holidays. Back to the gym. No more Christmas cookies for breakfast and staying in pajamas all day. The dreaded Dry January.
I actually really like the idea of January as a reset month, but not in the sense of eating only vegetables and cutting out the wine. (We need wine in January!)
For me, the reset comes with taking down the Christmas decorations, doing a re-org of the pantry and my closet, and returning all the things that have ended up in a pile or little basket to their real home.
I don’t remember much from high school physics, but the concept of entropy really stuck with me. Put simply, it’s the idea that any system naturally tends toward chaos. That feels especially true when you’ve got a 1-year-old exploring every inch of the house, but toddlers aside, I like beginning the year with a sense of clarity and organization. Even if, inevitably, the chaos will return, it feels good - and fresh, and hopeful- to start the year with a clean slate.
This January is going to be a particularly big reset month, because in just over a week, our kitchen will be ready and we are moving back into our house!
I can’t wait to get back in there and sort through the bins of kitchen tools, dishes and linens I hurriedly packed up in the fall. There’s a certain detachment that comes with being away from your space - and your stuff - that makes it feel easier to sort through what should stay and what should go.
Now, what to make to fuel the reset? Soup, of course! The simpler, the better. This recipe for lentil soup is a classic, with a couple tweaks to make it more interesting than your average. I like to use some fennel along with the usual celery-carrots & onions. It adds a little bit of sweetness and a fresh, subtle anise flavor. I also add smoked paprika and coriander to give the lentils’ earthy flavor a boost. But what makes this recipe really fun is the crisped sausage on top. It makes any bowl of soup instantly heartier, and feel more like a complete meal. You’d be surprised how much crispness you can achieve with lean chicken sausage if you take your time cooking it.
For this recipe, I use raw chicken sausage - usually sold in links at the butcher counter. If you can’t find it, you could use sweet or hot Italian sausage, or, if you want to stick with chicken, you could slice up some pre-cooked chicken sausage and crisp up the slices in a bit of olive oil.
I hope you’ll give this recipe a try, and let me know what you think in the comments below. Here’s to the fresh, new year ahead!
xox
Lidey
