Red lentil soup

My neighbour, Mary, is a vegetarian, and the other day she very kindly showed me how to make some good, easy soup. Tonight, I tried it myself (with her supervision and a few tips, like how to properly hold a chef's knife while dicing onions). 

This is red lentil soup. You can pretty well add whatever vegetables and spices you want, but tonight I went with a simple mix of red pepper and cabbage. 

Tastes better than it looks!

I couldn't believe how quick it was to make, and tasty. The best part is, it's healthy, vegan, and still provides protein and a satisfying feeling of fullness, especially when paired with some artisan bread from the bakery.

Multigrain from Sobey's

So here's the recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 large red pepper (diced in large chunks)
• 1 medium onion (diced in large chunks)
• 1 or 2 cloves of garlic (thinly diced)
• 1 large chunk of chopped cabbage (to taste)
• any other vegetable you like (carrots, for example, would probably be good)
• 1 cup red lentils (which are actually orange)
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. chilli flakes

Steps:

Start with a pot on medium heat, with a good base layer of olive oil. When oil is hot, add the vegetables. 

Next, rinse the lentils twice to get rid of the "dust" that's on them. 

Once the veggies are somewhat soft, add the lentils and three cups of water. Immediately add the spices and salt. Stir and bring to a rolling boil. 

Once boiling, turn down to low and let simmer, stirring often. 

The soup is ready when the lentils have dissolved into a thick mush – about 15 minutes.