what i'm craving—soup, of course

i've been making a ton of this souper-easy split red lentil soup lately, and totally loving it, so i thought i'd share.

split red lentil soup

• one medium onion, chopped
• three stalks (or thereabouts) celery, chopped
• two large carrots, peeled and chopped
• *optional* one tomato diced
• two cups vegetable broth (or two cups water + 2 tsp better than bouillon <—i love this stuff)
• half a can of tomato paste (you can freeze the rest in ice-cube trays for use later)
• one cup water
• 1/2 cup split red lentils (masoor dal)
• 1 tsp minced garlic (you can do garlic powder if that's all you've got)
• 1 tablespoon cumin (i might use more than this, but i'm a little bit cumin obsessed)
• 1/2 tsp oregano (i might use more than this too, it's sort of hard to tell)
• salt and pepper to taste

the split red lentils are great because not only are they high in protein (and low in fat and calories), but because they're split, they cook quickly, so you're a go for the eating part (which is by far my favorite) fast.

voila!

addendum:—the "how" part:

i try to avoid talking about how i go about cooking, because i'm pretty sure that my technique is terrible, but since mom asked…

1. heat the pot at medium heat, and give it a little squirt of pam.
2. toss in the veggies, seasonings, and about a half cup of the broth.
3. start fixing mike and sam's dinners (because they don't eat my tasty soups—which means more for me, so yay). the veggies should be getting good and cooked down in that broth. if you need to add more liquid, do so at any time.
4. at some point remember that you're making soup. throw the lentils and tomato paste in the pot and stir until the tomato paste is mixed in.
5. add the rest of the broth, stir, and let it simmer.
6. back to mike and sam's dinners (probably 10 minutes or so, though i'm not sure).
7. add the water, stir again, and let the soup sit on low until you're ready to eat (it usually takes between 5 and 10 minutes for the boys to make their way to the table, but i'm guessing the soup is ready before then.)