Vegetable Lentil Soup The benefits of language school

For YK, who enjoys with me all the side benefits of Korean School

Every Saturday, I rouse the kids up early, get them changed and washed up, feed them breakfast, and load them in the car so that I can drive 30 minutes to their Korean school.  Its a lot of work and the whining and general unhappiness that accompanies this trip down is not entirely easy but I carry on and push through and get Children to Korean school without fail, every single Saturday.  This isnt even counting the stress I undergo receiving countless emails regarding homework (three different kids in three different classes just means a lot of emails) and having to actually SUPERVISE and have Children COMPLETE the homework.   A lesser mother might quit taking their kids, given the sheer resistance that Children put up, but I cant give up Korean school and its not for the reasons that you think.

Of course there are tremendous benefits to Children in learning a foreign language and the mother tongue that both Husband and I speak.  We want Children to be able to read and write in Korean and be able to communicate with Grandparents easily in Korean.  We wish and hope for them to be bilingual and comfortable speaking more than one language.  Thats a compelling reason to send Children to Korean school, but on many days, like today, its not the driving force behind why I get behind the wheel and grit my teeth against the complaints and get Children to Korean school.

On a day, like today, the reason I could bear all the noise on the way to Korean school is because I knew that once they were in Korean school, I would have time.  FOR ME.  And while time for me can look like a variety of things like time in front of the computer, or time blogging, or time organizing the house and cooking, time for me on Korean school days is different;  Im far enough away from home that going back doesnt make sense, which means that for almost three hours I HAVE to find something to do.  Something that I want to do.  Something for me.

Sometimes best friend YK (whose child also receives the tremendous benefits of Korean school) and I get a pedicure.  Sometimes we grab brunch.  Sometimes we get errands done, but today was not about any of those things.  Today was about time for us.  We went to a cafe, got a coffee, cozied down on a table; she on her laptop, I with my book and we settled in for two and a half hours of uninterrupted quiet time.  I did not answer the phone; I did not look at the computer. I actually had time to sit and read straight through a novel Im planning on teaching my students next.  I took notes, had time to reflect, and I got to enjoy sitting outside in the sun with best friend and not having to talk or do anything except just be.

Now, Ill never let Children know that I send them to Korean school so that I can benefit, but I assure you, if you dont have your kids in some sort of Saturday language program, they (ahem - YOU) are really missing out.

After Korean school today, after Childrens torture and my mini-vacation, I came home and fed Children this soup, steaming and perfectly in line with fall.  With crusty pieces of bread, or a warm sandwich, it signaled the end of both their schooling and my respite.

Vegetable Lentil Soup

Serves 8

Ingredients
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups diced onions
3 cups diced carrots
3 cups diced celery
½ cup white wine (optional)
14 oz can crushed or diced tomatoes
2 quarts chicken stock or vegetable stock
? cup dried lentils (I used red split lentils from Trader Joes)
1 cup chopped basil
2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley
salt and pepper
parmesan cheese for sprinkling as garnish (optional)

Method
Heat oil in a heavy pot over medium high heat.  Add onions, carrots, and celery all at once.  Add a good pinch of salt and pepper to season the vegetables.  Saute until onions are translucent and carrots and celery are beginning to become tender, about 6 minutes.  Add wine and cook for an additional minute until wine has evaporated.  Add tomatoes, chicken stock and lentils all at once.  Bring to a simmer and reduce heat, cooking until lentils are tender.  The tenderness of the lentils WILL depend on the type of lentils you use.  Split lentils cook the fastest, and will be tender in about 20 minutes.  Whole lentils will take much longer to become tender, closer to 40 minutes.

Printable recipe

And with a bite of this, Im thinking about next weeks class.

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Lentil Sausage Soup Why libraries are life changing

For JC who always makes me laugh and makes me celebrate being a nerd.

My work as a private teacher these days means that I do a lot of different types of things for an incredibly wide range of students.  The work is rarely the same from student to student and most of the time I try to remember that my main goal with many of them is to give them an opportunity to change their impression of themselves.  I have a good number of students who start with me because they dislike school, dislike reading, dislike books, or plain straight up dont like studying.  I get them and the work is hard but always interesting and filled with eye-opening moments.

I have one student who has been with me for nearly four years and Id like to think we have a good relationship.  He relies on me to help him get through some of the tougher assignments from school and I spend a lot of time pushing him to do the best that he can on any given assignment.  Most recently our work  has put him in my car so we can go to our local public library together.  The first time I took him he said, "Man.  This is creepy.  I dont even know how to get around this place."  I had to find him a sports book that he could enjoy, he would read, and be entertained by and so we walked over to the shelves and I began searching for the right book.  He stood off to the side making comments such as, "Man.  You know how to USE a library.  Do you come here a lot?" and "Whoa. How do you know how to find stuff?"  to finally, "Did you go to the library a lot as a kid?"  I answered all the questions as I searched for his book and called out titles to him that he might enjoy.  We settled on sports book that featured crazy and unusual sport contests and we left.

This student knows I know how to use a library. Most recently he wanted to have a book on tape version of a book he needed to read and came to me.  I showed him how to access our online catalog, put the desired book on hold and later on in the week picked it up and gave it to him.  He was grateful and said, "Man.  You know how to use that library."

Just last week, he came with the book that he had to finish, A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah and asked if I could read with him to help him finish as he was about 50 pages from the end.  As I had read only a portion of the book at the beginning and nothing in the middle, I figured Id be reading it simply to help him through it, and not to necessarily being fully engaged in the book.  I knew the basics of the plot, heard the author on a variety of interviews and I figured it would be just some mellow time reading.  The two of us pored over the book, with my student asking various questions for clarification along the way.  Suddenly I was hooked.   I wanted to read the book.  About 10 pages before the end, our time together was over and he stood up and slammed the book.

"Wait.  Ill let you finish.  Come on.  Lets just finish," I said.

"Nope," he replied with finality.

"Come on!  Ill help you finish it!  Lets read!"

"Nope."

"Why wont you just finish here?  I want you to finish here."

"Dont worry.  Im going to finish it at home.  Im stopping the book now so YOU will want to read it.  Go get it at the library."

Huh?  What?  My reluctant reader student is convincing ME to read a book?  Yes.  Yes he is.  And in this moment, I know that he is changed.  He has changed his perception about himself as a reader - he can actually ENJOY a book.  He doesnt enjoy all of them, nor do I expect him to, but this book he enjoyed - enjoyed enough that he wants ME to read it.  And Ill be picking one up at my library at his request.

Now - Ill get a nerdy here and ask that you consider the amazing educational researcher Dr. Stephen Krashens work on the power of the library.  Its a great short video on youtube, and you wont be sorry you watched.  Youll be grateful for your local librarian, thankful your childs school has one, and if not either of those cases, youll be outraged that your town and your school doesnt have one.  I went to Childrens school librarian and local childrens public librarian last week and hugged gratefully each one of them.  Libraries are a gift and something we take for granted, but we shouldnt.  Go, check out 50 books (it raises circulation counts which is a good thing) and sit amidst a pile of books and be transported elsewhere.

In addition to books, this lentil soup transports me somewhere else as well.  Although Im in overly-sunny California, Id rather be curled up by a fire enjoying this soup and a good book.  I want to be locked in so that I dont have to go anywhere and can sit, instead, mulling over the written word and a bowl of this hearty thing.  I use the kale stems leftover from my kale salad  and I think its a great and healthy addition to this bowl of yumminess.  It requires a little bit of patience to build up the flavors and the base of the soup, but the end result, so worth it.  Just like a great book.

Sausage Lentil Soup
4 quarts of soup

Ingredients
1 pound French green lentils (I like Trader Joe’s green lentils)
1/4 cup olive oil
3 large diced onions
3 cups chopped kale stems (if you have available - I always make this after I’ve made my kale salad, so there are stems)
8 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 ½  teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves OR 2 tablespoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3 cups medium diced celery (8 stalks)
3 cups medium diced carrots (4 to 6 carrots)
½ cup red wine
3 quarts chicken stock
?  cup tomato paste
12 to 16 oz  turkey kielbasa, cut in 1/2 lengthwise and sliced 1/3-inch thick

Method
In a large bowl, cover the lentils with boiling water and allow to sit for 15 minutes. Drain.

In a large stockpot over medium heat, heat the olive oil and saute the onions, kale stems, garlic, salt, pepper, thyme, and cumin for 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are translucent and tender.

Add celery and carrots and saute for another 10 minutes. Add red wine and continue to cook for 5 minutes.
Add the chicken stock, tomato paste, and drained lentils, cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 1 hour, or until the lentils are cooked through and tender. Check the seasonings. Add the kielbasa and simmer until the kielbasa is hot.

Printable recipe

There is power in books and power in this soup.

And if youre inspired to read a book that one of my most reluctant readers read and enjoyed, check this one out.

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