♥ one of many resolutions: eat more soup!!!

winter is the season of soup- or "choup" as henry calls it!

(it's a combination of "chip" and "soup"-- two of his favorite things to eat!)

with the cold weather actually here, i thought there was no better time 

to get down to cooking up a warm batch of delicious lentil soup.

one of my favorite recipe books is definitely isa chandra moskowitz's 

appetite for reduction, which has hundreds of easy vegan recipes made

with simple ingredients (most of which i keep on hand!)

this year, i want to get better at making soups because:

1) they're easy. duh! ( do i look like i have time??)

2) they're filling! (you can eat alot without feeling guilty/bloated!)

3) they pack a punch of vitamins when you fill them with vegetables!

4) my uncle made the best soups in the world, and i must do my best to honor 

his memory and keep the soup-making tradition alive in my family!

5) nick is a meat-eater (but is vegetarian by association!), and he will totally

 get on board with any soup that i try. and he's very good with spices :)

6) i still don't have a "go-to" recipe for anything. and it makes me feel like a bad mom,

maybe soup could be my thing??? 

7) did i mention how easy they are?

there you have it, my reasons behind why i will make the task of trying new soups 

more often (and share them with you!) and also, the recipe:

ingredients:

1 tsp olive oil

1 medium sized onion, cut into medium dice

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp dried tarragon

several pinches of freshly ground black pepper

1/2 tsp sea salt

2 ribs celery, diced small

1/2 lb carrots, diced small

1/2 lb zucchini, diced small

1 cup french lentils ( i used red lentils!)
6 cups vegetable broth

6 oz tomato sauce

3 cups of spinach leaves 

* i didn't have spinach, but i suspect it adds a texture and 

more of a filling element to the soup!

directions:

1) preheat a 4 qt pot over medium heat. saute the onion in oil for 5 minutes, until translucent.

2) add garlic, thyme, tarragon, pepper and salt and saute another minute.

3) add the carrots, celery, zucchini, lentils and vegetable broth and mix to combine.

4) once boiling, lower the heat to a simmer and cook for about 45 minutes,

until the veggies are tender and soup has thickened.

5) add the tomato sauce and spinach and cook until spinach has wilted.

6) let cool for 10 minutes and enjoy :)

ps. check out the other soup recipes i have shared over the years!