Post weekend artery cleanse

I have had the ingredients for Crushed Lentil Soup at the house for a little while now, with the intentions of making it over the weekend... But I opted for pizza, nachos, beer, and other Super Bowl snacks...oops! A girl can indulge every now and again, can't she?  At least I hit my first 45 mile week of this training cycle, plus 2 hours spinning...But I did finally made my favorite Lebanese soup after a crappy day at work today, and after a quick 20 minutes I got my favorite, fiberlicious, lemony delicious soup!

This is the same soup that is found at Middle Eastern restaurants. At the end of the recipe there are variations, depending on your preference.

Crushed Lentil Soup  

(serves 6-8... or 1 if you are very hungry like me!)

6 vegetable stock (I use 6 cups of water and 3 cubes of "Not-Chick'n" Natural Bouillon, found in the natural section of Kroger)
1 pound red lentils, rinsed (NOT brown lentils!!! Red lentils are tiny and orange. They can be found in the international section of Meijer, or at any Indian or Middle Eastern grocer)
3 tablespoons oilve oil
3 cloves fresh minced garlic (or more if you'd like)
1 large white onion chopped
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric (optional, will give a great yellow color)
1 lemon
white pepper (optional, to taste)

Cook onion and garlic in a large pot, with olive oil, over medium heat until transluent.
Add Cumin (and turmeric, optional) to the hot oil mixture and mix well.

Add stock, turn heat to medium high, and bring to a boil.
Add red lentils, reduce heat to low and simmer until lentils are soft, approx. 10-15 minutes.
Turn off the heat, and puree with an immersion blender or in a regular stand blender (if  using this option, be careful with the hot mixture!)
Add fresh lemon juice (and white pepper if you wish) to taste (1 or 2 wedges) upon serving.

Variations:
*Do not puree, but be sure to cut your veggies small enough... you may wish to cook an additional 5 minutes to break the lentils down a little more... This can be done to the next variation as well...
*Add some carrot and celery to the onion/garlic mixture, sprinkle with a bit of salt, and cook until soft. Skip the stock, and just use water, and salt to taste... you may opt to add a little more cumin to this variation, depending on what you like.
*Add a bit of cooked rice, whatever type you wish, to the soup... increase the water by 1/2 cup or so to account for the extra starch.
*Explore with other veggies and spices! This is soup! It's easy and delicious!

Enjoy!