As Promised...

Carrot Soup ( 10 minutes prep, 50 minutes cook)

½ cup split lentils

5 cups vegetable or chicken broth

2 cups peeled and sliced carrots

2 onions, chopped

1 14-oz can chopped tomatoes

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp coriander

1 fresh green chili, seeded and chopped

1 tsp ground turmeric

1 tbsp lemon juice

salt

1 cup milk

2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

plain yogurt

Place lentils in a large saucepan with 3 ½ cups of the vegetable broth, carrots, onions, tomatoes and garlic. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a small pan. Add the cumin, coriander, chili and turmeric and fry gently for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice and salt to taste. When the soup is finished simmering, puree it in small batches in a food processer. Return it to the saucepan. Add the spice mixture and the rest of the vegetable broth. Simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the chopped cilantro and reheat gently. Serve hot, with a swirl of yogurt.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You don't really need to sautee the chili with the seasonings. Just stir them in. I actually use dried, red chilies that Matt and Michelle gave me. Last night I put in three, crushed. And then I stirred. Yet somehow I got a spoonful of hotness when I took a sample. My lips burned. Literally. The skin between my lips and my nose was on fire for about 2 hours. And when I kissed Eric, he recoiled from hotness and said I burned his lips. I wish I were joking. In the end, though, it was the right amount of spicy.

Also, lentils? They are amazing. One quarter of a cup gets you 60% of your daily fiber and THIRTEEN grams of protein. THIRTEEN, people! And, boy are they cheap. Two cups cost me $.59. That means for 7 cents you can have thirteen grams of fiber. They're not super tasty by themselves, but they are perfect in this soup because they are all blended in.

Let me know if you try it and like it.