Lots of Lentils

I've eaten a lot of different kinds of food in my life, by never had lentils.  Now, since my vegan in the house doesn't eat anything from an animal, I have to improvise when making food.   So I chose lentils, a great source of fiber and protein, to make Lentil Soup.  I had to figure out how to make it, played around with a few ingredients and VOILA!  I made a delicious easy soup.

This soup is very easy to make, it uses inexpensive ingredients, and the house smells so good while it's cooking.  Serve it with a crusty loaf of Italian bread or whole grain bread, to sop up all those tasty juices, or a few toasted croutons on top, and don't forget the grated cheese if you like.

Some of my ingredients, clean up the celery and peel the carrots.

 Mince the garlic, slice the celery and dice the carrots. Add it all to your Dutch oven or soup pot.

 Add salt, pepper and cumin, stir it all up.....

 .....and saute veggies until somewhat tender.  Then add the lentils and cook for a few minutes.

 I always use stock in my soups, instead of broth.  It costs a few pennies more, but worth it in flavor.
  Add a few bay leaves.....

 .....and stir them in.

Toss in a few sprigs of fresh thyme, you can throw stems and all in, just remove the stems and bay leaves before serving.

 The soup is lookin' good and the aroma is even better.

I use fresh spinach when I have it, I snip off the long stems, toss it in.....

 ......stir and the heat does the rest.

Soup's ready!

Homemade Vegan Lentil Soup

Ingredients

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

4 celery stalks with leaves, sliced

4 carrots, peeled and diced

1/2 large sweet onion, diced

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 cups dried lentils

2 - 32 oz boxes vegetable stock

3 bay leaves

3 sprigs fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried

2 cups fresh spinach or 1 box thawed of frozen spinach wrung dry

Directions

Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or soup pot on medium - high heat. Add the garlic, celery, carrots, onion, cumin salt and pepper.  Stir together and saute until the veggies are tender and slightly browned. Add the lentils, stir them in and cook for 3 minutes, stirring as they are cooking.  Stir in the stock, bay leaves and thyme.  Reduce heat to medium and let the soup cook for 35 - 45 minutes.  In the last 20 minutes add the spinach and let it cook down.  You may or may not need to add water as the lentils expand and thicken the soup.  If you do add water be careful, add a little at a time you don't want to water down the flavor. Remove the bay leaves and thyme sprigs before serving.

Serve with a crusty Italian bread, whole grain bread or seasoned croutons on top.  Makes 6 -8 servings.