Lentil Soup

I was bored with all my food options yesterday, so I decided to make soup. I had all the ingredients for soup here *BONUS* and so off on another soup making adventure!

This was the recipe that I used and modified a little:

3 tbs. olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 tbs. tomato paste
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 to 1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
3-4 cups quart chicken or vegetable broth
1 cup red lentils
1 large carrot, diced (at least 1 cup) --- I used 2 carrots
2-3 tbs lemon juice
chopped fresh cilantro and plain yogurt to top (optional) --- I only had yogurt

(I also threw in 2 stalks of celery)

In a medium sized pot, sauté onion, carrots, celery and garlic in olive oil on medium high heat until golden, about five minutes.

Stir in tomato paste, cumin, black pepper and sauté another five minutes.

Add 3 cups broth if you prefer a chunky soup, 4 cups for a thinner version. Add lentils. Bring to low simmer and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally until the lentils and carrot are soft (about 20-25 minutes).

Blend soup, using an immersion blender (first time I used it and it was great!) or in a countertop blender. You can choose to blend completely for a smooth and supple soup, or leave some texture if you’d like it a bit chunky. Both are good.

Add lemon juice. I like this soup quite lemony and use somewhere between 2 and 3 tbs. You may want to stop at 2 tbs.

Add salt. Depending on the salt content of your stock, you may want more or less salt. Start with 1/2 teaspoon and work your way to where you like it. I always use at least 1 tsp, sometimes more.

Serve topped with yogurt and chopped cilantro, if desired. It’s also delicious without any topping.

I loved it, tasted great, got to eat veggies and the lentils that would otherwise just sit there in the back of the cupboard.



This I thought I'd post cause it was kinda cute. This is what the bird traveled in on the way to the bird hospital. Apparently people use "bird incubators" which is just fancy talk for a small hard plastic insulated box with a handle and no perch (so they don't fall off). PFFT to that! I had a scarf and fleece blanket that worked fine. Tony wants a bird incubator for incase we ever have to transport the bird again...like around Christmas :P oh Tony...he loves his bird so much.