Red Lentil (Lebanese-style) Soup = AMAZING! Recipe included!

It's Friday! You know what that means? It means I'm going to do NOTHING for the next two days because this pregnant lady REALLY needs to unwind and relax. I'm going to make this a short post because A) I'm tired and B) I'm lazy. Sound like a plan?

First, I want to touch on a few emails Craig and I got from you awesome readers yesterday. If you've been watching the news, you know there's some major sh*t going on in Southern Israel (like terror attacks). We are fine and have no plans to visit Eilat right now (it's WAAAAAAY too hot - both in climate and in political issues). We live in North-Central Israel (not like South Central LA) where it's quiet and the only big thing that happens here is the H&M that just opened in our local mall (YAY!!!!) - that's as big as it gets. We're fine though.

On another note, I made red lentil soup yesterday and was pleasantly surprised at how easy and fast it was (seriously!) - so if you're ever in a bind and need a good any-time soup recipe, this is a good and hearty soup. You will NOT want to eat anything for hours, I promise. Before I dish out my recipe, I'll ask you this: What are YOU making to eat this weekend?


Here's my revised recipe (adapted from AllRecipes.com):

• 6 cups chicken stock
• 1 pound red lentils
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 celery stalk
• 2 tablespoons salt
  
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

Directions

1. Bring chicken stock and lentils to a boil in a large saucepan over low heat - you don't need to cover the pot.
   
2. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a skillet over low heat. Stir in garlic and onion, and cook until the onion has softened and turned translucent, then brown it.Then add your carrots, let it sit for about 3-5 minutes.
   
3. Stir onions and carrots into the lentils and season with cumin and salt. Add in the celery Continue simmering until the lentils are tender, about 10-15 minutes.
4. Carefully puree the soup in a standing blender, or with a stick blender until smooth. Stir in lemon juice before serving. Start will a little lemon juice -you can always add more if you need to.