Continuing to Stay Connected
The pandemic has forever changed the way many of us work and will continue to work in the future. Some organizations are moving to an on-site work environment, while others have increased their flexibility and have made the decision to continue supporting a remote or hybrid workforce. In our case, a few of us work in the office while others are full-time telecommuting. Over the course of the last couple of years we have transformed both how we offer our products and services, as well as, how we connect as a team. One of our favorite ways of staying connected is through Monthly Team Cooking Sessions. Each member of our team signs up for a month and leads a virtual cooking session. We’ve learned a lot about each other through these sessions and have gained valuable skills in presenting and leading… and they are FUN!
We believe virtual experiences are here to stay. If you’d like to offer one of these experiences to your team, let us know! We offer a variety of sessions ranging from “Mindfulness & Gratitude” to “Building Emergency First Aid Kit” to “Cooking”. We also offer Virtual Benefit and Wellness Fairs, which have become especially popular during open enrollment season.
We thought we’d share the recipe we did as a team at our recent monthly cooking session. It was delicious and provided multiple days of leftovers! We hope you enjoy it as much as we did!
Spicy Red Lentil Soup
Serves 4
Ingredients:
2 cups red lentils, picked over and rinsed
1 serrano chili pepper, chopped (remove seeds for less heat)
1 large tomato, roughly chopped
1 1 1/2-inch piece ginger, peeled and grated
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
Kosher salt
1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for topping
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
Naan or other flatbread for serving
Directions:
Combine the lentils and 7 cups warm water in a pot, cover and bring to a boil. Add the serrano pepper, tomato, ginger, garlic, turmeric and 2 teaspoons salt. Partially cover and simmer over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until thickened, 18 to 20 minutes. Stir in the cilantro. Thin the soup with water, if desired, and season with salt.
Mix the yogurt with 2 teaspoons water and a pinch of salt in a small bowl. Ladle the soup into bowls and top with the yogurt and more cilantro. Serve with naan.
Recipe link: Food Network
Enjoy!
