Lentil Soup with Cumin and Celery Seed

Yesterday was Vegetarian Monday and Thanksgiving is now over! Thank goodness, cause my figure can't handle much more meat and dressing and pie. John and I just finished spending a week at home in Nebraska with my family. Was so happy to be there, even for such a short time. Mom and I cooked up a storm while I was there. Sadly, I'm not going to post about any of the amazing deserts and dishes we made! (Well, at least not right now).

This delicious lentil soup came from Fatfreevegan, a cooking blog devoted, as I'm sure you've guessed, to vegan style cooking. Making vegan dishes, ones that actually taste good, is a heck of a challenge. Especially when using no oil or butter, like in this dish! But as soon as I saw the recipe for this soup, I had to try it. Not so happy with this photo... Needed more light. I'd like trying to take it again sometime. Since this recipe is soooo worth it.

Truthfully, my version of this soup isn't fully vegan, because I didn't have vegetable bouillon on hand (and I was NOT going back to the store), I wound up using chicken instead. Also, Fatfreevegan's version included coriander seed... I don't dislike many things, but coriander (aka cilantro), is of the devil. I can't really describe what it tastes like to me. Soap, maybe. I can think of harsher words, but they are inappropriate to a blog about cooking!

So, instead of coriander, I substituted celery seed. Not exactly the same. Not really the same at all. Made for a spicier soup, which I further enhanced with a 1/8 tsp of white pepper and a 1/2 tsp of paprika.

In the end, it turned out a very flavorful dish. The lentils still came out strongly, despite all of the spices.

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Lentil Soup with Cumin and Celery Seed

Adapted from Fat Free Vegan November-27-2012

A spicy, healthy, vegetarian bean soup

Ingredients

• 1 cup brown lentils, uncooked
• 6 cups water
• 2 cubes chicken bouillon
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 large carrot, chopped
• 1 golden potato, chopped, skin left on
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp celery seed
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1/8 tsp white pepper
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• to taste freshly ground pepper
• quarter head cabbage, chopped
• to taste Jane's Crazy Mixed up Salt
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley
• 2 tsp lemon juice

Instructions

1. Bring water to boil. Have some extra on hand, in case soup becomes to thick and dry. Add bouillon cubes, lentils, vegetables, spices and parsely to a boil, except for cabbage. 2. Reduce heat to medium, then continue cooking for 30 minutes. Add cabbage, cook until soft. 3. Check to make sure potatoes and lentils are soft enough. If so, add vinegar and a few extra dashes of cumin.