Lentil Soup

I love soup! Whenever it gets cool out, I get a hankering to make soup. To paraphase John Steinbeck: “What good is the crispness of fall, without the heat of summer to give it sweetness.”

In honor of Timerline Lodge getting 14 inches of snow, I decided to make lentil soup:

My favorite pot is http://shop.lodgemfg.com/dutch-ovens-and-casseroles/4-6-qt-dutch-ovens.asp. I store it in a cabinet in the garage. However, in the fall and winter I rarely put it away because I use it so much.

Next to coming home to the smell of cookies, nothing compares to the smell of soup. When cooking sometimes I will go outside for a few minutes, just so I can appreciate the aroma when walking back inside.

Circling back to John Steinbeck:

Attitudes toward strangers crop up mysteriously. I was downwind from the camp
and the odor of their soup drifted to me. Those people might have been
murderers, sadists, brutes, ugly apish subhumans for all I knew, but I found
myself thinking, "What charming people, what flair, how beautiful they are.
How I wish I knew them." And all based on the delicious smell of soup.

Some people asked for the recipe so here it goes:

In your favorite soup pot, heat:

	1 Tbs olive oil
Add:

	1 C diced carrots
	1 C diced celery
	1 C diced onion

and sautee for 5 minutes. Add:

	2 tsp Herbes de Provence
	1 tsp black pepper
	1 lb dried brown lentils
	2 qt vegetable stock

Simmer until lentils arr almost tender, 30-45 minutes. Add:

	1 lb diced ham

Simmer until ham is heated.

Enjoy!

“Soup: Heats the belly but warms the soul.” – Unknown