Persian Lentil Soup

I love when Mo is in town because it makes Monday's Soups feel like a whole lot less work (uhm, maybe just for me) and a whole lot more wine. Mo introduced us to the mung bean, explained how to make our own yogurt, and told us about how wonderful sour cherries are from her uncle's trees in Iran. That all sounds nice doesn't it?

It especially sounded nice on red wine bottle number 2.5. This soup might win for overall bulk. See picture below. Not even that time we used an entire Halloween pumpkin have we filled the soup pot so high. This soup took longer than normal to cook, because we had to soften all those beans, but that was fine by me. We ate Alayna's baba ghanoush, I realized I need to buy a small food processor, and we talked about how stupid the Atkins Diet is and my new obsession with potted herbs and how maybe putting them all on my bathroom windowsill isn't the smartest idea. A few hours later I walked home, all 30 blocks north, with the heaviest giant pickle jar of soup I've carried yet. So many lunches. So exciting.

• saute one large yellow onion in olive oil with a generous bit of turmeric until soft
• add three cups of mung beans and cover with water and bring to a low boil
• after the mung beans have been simmering for about ten minutes, add about two cups of green lentils, one cup of rice, and about 3/4 a stick of butter (butter is delicious), adding more water if necessary, and get back to a simmer for another 30-40 minutes until all parts are soft and mushy
• at this point you can also chop 2-4 carrots and throw them in (optional)
  
• chop up two bunches of chard (red or swiss) and put them in about the last ten minutes, as well as a generous handful of parsley
• adjust turmeric, salt and pepper flavoring as necessary
  
• serve with a dollop of plain yogurt or sour cream