This is a mish mash of quite a few recipes I’ve found, mostly from this Low Fat Turkey and Lentil Soup recipe. Most of the improvisations were to add some fat, fake the Thanksgiving turkey and remove anything I knew my husband wouldn’t eat. No vegetables, but he will eat lentils. Go figure.

The portions I used are for a half recipe, just enough for 3 bowls and to fill my 2 quart Le Creuset french oven. My chicken stock comes from Organic Low Sodium Better than Bouillon Chicken Base dissolved in water, this has all the carrot and celery flavor I need to remove those items that Jason hates from soup. You may want to add a 1/2 cup of each to step 3 if your stock is on the bland side.

2 tablespoons oil (I used my usual 3 parts vegetable oil, 1 part olive oil)
1/4 pound chorizo, no casing
1/2 pound turkey breast, thinly diced
1 cup red lentils
1/2 of a large walla walla yellow onion
1 jalapeno
1 garlic clove
1 tablespoon yellow curry powder
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons thyme
2 tablespoons poultry seasoning
1 bay leaf
3 cups chicken stock

1. Thinly dice the chicken breast. Coat thoroughly in poultry seasoning and paprika and set aside.
2. Heat the 2 tablespoons of oil in a pan on medium.
3. Chop up the onion, jalapeno and garlic. Saute until softened in the pan.
4. Add in 1 tablespoon of curry powder and stir thoroughly. Let cook for 1 minute.
5. Add in the chorizo, making sure to break it up as it’s cooking. Give this about 5 minutes.
6. Add in the turkey and thyme and mix everything up. Cover and cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring to make sure the outside of all the turkey has turned white.
7. Add in the cup of lentils and stir everything together to evenly distribute then add in the 3 cups of chicken stock and bay leaf. Bring to a boil for 1 minute.
8. Lower temperature to low and simmer for 20 minutes, or longer if you want the lentils softer.

Remove the bay leaf and serve. It paired great with the pita & hummus I snacked on while cooking, but mixed terribly with chili pepper and lime coated jicama I pulled out while eating.

This, unfortunately, is not the 14,264ft peak of Mount Evans. This is precisely the place where my breathing started to hurt and my head started to swell. The wind was cold and fast and my nose was running out of control. Going up stairs or toward the summit felt like I was dipping myself in cement with every step. And to add insult to injury a member of our party was an 8 month pregnant woman who showed off triumphant photos of her on top.

Apparently, I’m not ready for 14,264, The best I can give you is the view from 14,130.

Taken on a view point on the Mount Evan Scenic Byway, the highest paved road in America. This was shot 2 days after the road opened for the season, May 30th, accounting for all the snow in the background. At this height I think we might still have been over 12,000 feet. The road goes up to 14,130 feet, which is also the exact height where I started to get altitude sickness.