Snow day, soup day
Can you believe today is the LAST day of January? Where has the time gone?! Seriously, though, this month has flown by. Two weeks from tomorrow, I’ll be en route to Melbourne and two months of sunshine. 
While shoveling this morning, I got a little nostalgic thinking that this will probably be my last snowfall of the winter. Once February 15 hits, it’s off to summer and by the time I get home, spring will be in full swing. Wow!
For now though, it’s cold and all I want to eat is soup. Well, soup and oatmeal. 
Lentil soup. Yum.
It’s pretty much a requirement that good bread go with good soup. Whether for dipping or just extra carb consumption, bread is key.
Enter: Spring Mill Bread Co. I love this place. Everything is baked daily from scratch using only natural ingredients, many of them organic. Check out the ingredient list for the Three Seed Healthy Loaf we bought this weekend:
Really good, right? The bread selection changes daily; unfortunately, my all-time favorite, Tomato Herb, is only available during the summer. Bummer! 
Spring Mill has a fantastic food philosophy: have a basic ingredient list with no preservatives or artificial ingredients, bake 100% whole grain products and support alternative energy — its entire milling operation runs on wind power. Too cool!
By milling its own flour, the company can keep the wheat’s nutritional value and maintain high quality. The more I learn about Spring Mil, the happier I am to support them.
There are locations around the DC Metro area and always a big board of samples to try.
For a sweeter bread, my family loves the Cinnamon Swirl and Apple Streusel.
Do you have a cool local bakery near you? It can definitely be more expensive than buying a loaf from the grocery store, but health-wise and environmentally, supporting a local bakery is a great option.
Totally agree, that supporting a local bakery is also good for you. We have so many here in Seattle – Le Panier for traditional French baguettes, Bakery Nouveaux for a heartier, grainier version, I could go on and on. After spending time in Paris, I became addicted to freshly baked bread and I haven’t given up the habit since. Besides, who wants their bread trucked in?
Oh yes, the bread in Paris ruins you for the preservative-filled crap most American stores are full of!
Two things: Hurray for seasonal eating! Just like we love summer for grilling and light fish and salads, winter is brilliance for soups and stews… love, love, love it. AND that bread would do me in. I would eat the whole loaf, with some butter lurking nearby…
It takes serious willpower sometimes…
I’m making Mexican Lentil Stew tonight. I’m a bit nervous as I’ve never had lentils, but everything with them looks so fantastic!
I haven’t found an amazing local bakery, so I usually make any bread that we decide we want, except for the sandwich loaf from the grocery store that hides in our freezer for when we don’t have homemade bread.
I’ll be curious to hear how it turns out. Lentils are great because they are so versatile — great in soups, veggie burgers or just plain on salad. (IMO haha)
MMM I love grainy/seedyfull bread! There’s a bakery (Ithaca bakery) that I’ve been meaning to try.
I love Lentil Soup. We do have a bakery here that we really like the bread… they have an awesome rosemary bread… very yummy
I don’t have any cool local bakeries near me, which is unfortunate because I’m such a bread girl. The bread looks delicious and Spring Mill sounds like such a good company.
Thanks for the comment on my blog. I must say, after poking around your blog, I’m definitely a bit envious of all of your travel.
I didn’t know much about the company before writing this post — just loved the bread — but now I’m even more siked to enjoy the brand.
This spring is my last big trip and then it’s time for real life.
Do you mind sharing your lentil soup recipe? It’s my fave soup, and I have been trying a different recipe each time I make it.
I’m not sure about a local bakery here, but I have bought homemade bread at a local farmer’s market… I can’t remember the name of the person/company, but now I am wondering if they have a store.
Ooh, definitely ask the farmer’s market baker where else you can buy his/her bread!
I basically made this soup: http://traveleatrepeat.com/2010/01/15/soup-cures-everything/ but with veggie broth instead of water and added a few random veggies from the fridge to make it a heartier stew rather than thin soup. I also used regular lentils, not beluga. Let me know if you find a good recipe!
Thanks! I just tried your recipe – using regular lentils, chicken broth, random veggies of my own (for some reason I just LOVE carrots in my lentil soup/stew), and some apple chicken sausage I had because I know my husband will appreciate some meat. Yum!
Hope it turns out delicious!
Oh I just made my first soup with lentils – yours looks like it would be a great recipe to use for next time!
I love the image of a bakery run on wind power. Of course, I’m picturing something like the old Van de Kamp’s windmill, and Spring Mill is probably much more high-tech than that, but allow me my romantic fantasy.
In Denver, I like the Pajama Baking Company on Old South Pearl Street. They’re just three blocks from my house, so I don’t even have to drive – talk about environmentally friendly! They make these addicting peach scones that are light and fluffy with large chunks of fresh peach. In fact, I just ate one while having coffee with a friend about an hour ago.
I like your choice of winter warm-up foods. I would add Mexican hot chocolate to the mix. Heat and spice are a great combo on a cold day.
Good call on the Mexican hot choco — I buy a brand called Abuelita and love the spiciness.
“Abuelita” is such a perfect name. That’s the person in my life who first made it for me: my grandmother.