You know those funny “that-would-never-happen-to-me” stories that you hear about?
Like when you run in to get coffee for three minutes and you walk out to find your car towed (and your wallet $268 lighter).
Or that time you ran the dishwasher with dish soap rather than dish detergent.
Or when you back your brand new car into a curb for the eightieth time.
Or when you want a liiiiittle bit more salt in your soup and the salt shaker decides to make the excellent decision to dump its entire contents into your precious lentil stew.
Nope, those things would never happen to me.
Except that they all did. Every last one of them.
Allow me to set the scene. The stew was nearly done. I had just added the balsamic vinegar. The apartment smelled like a cute little cottage in the winter, complete with muffins in the oven and soup simmering on the stove. It was picturesque. It was straight out of a souptastical fairy tale.
Then, when I proceeded to finish the soup with a touch more salt, the lid came off and fell into the soup along with half the salt shaker. And we’re not talking a little table salt shaker. We’re talking the big mama from Whole Foods. Like would you like some soup with your salt.
At first I just stood there, staring. I gave the salt the evil eye for a minute or so, scooped out what I could, gave it a taste, and winced.
Then I started cracking up. Because this would happen to me.
The good news is that while a cup of salt may ruin the flavor of the stew, it surely doesn’t ruin photographs.
So today (since we can’t eat with our mouths), let’s eat with our eyes. Let’s pretend we didn’t spend an hour cooking soup that is now being eaten by the sink drain. Let’s pretend that one sip wouldn’t send your blood pressure through the roof. Let’s pretend that it wouldn’t send a salt stick running for the hills.
I swear that this soup tastes amazing. Just go easy on the salt, mmk?
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A hearty lentil stew packed with vegetables. Freezer-friendly and perfect for lunch or dinner!
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 small onions, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 2 medium carrots, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp salt, plus more to taste
- 1 1/2 tsp italian seasoning
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cup trimmed and chopped green beans (I used frozen)
- 4 cups vegetable broth + 1 cup water
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1–15oz caned diced tomatoes (not drained)
- 1 medium potato, cubed
- 1 cup lentils
- 2 cups spinach
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Instructions
- Heat oil over medium heat in a large pot or dutch oven.
- Once oil is hot, add onions, celery, carrots, and a dash of salt. Sautee for about 7 minutes.
- Add garlic and sautee for another 2 minutes. Stir in the salt, italian seasoning, and bay leaves. Sautee for another minute. Add green beans, vegetable broth, water, tomato paste, diced tomatoes, potato, and lentils. Give it a stir, bring to a boil, then simmer (covered) on low for 35-45 minutes, or until lentils are tender.
- Stir in spinach and balsamic vinegar. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
[Tweet “Lentil Vegetable Soup–a one-pot meal perfect for #MeatlessMonday via @TheHummusapien”]
Dixya @ Food, Pleasure, and Health says
i am so in love with this bowl full of comfort and deliciousness!
Dietitian Jess says
That happened to me the other day but it was garlic powder- I love garlic but I also like to taste my food. These pictures are gorgeous- sorry you didn’t get to enjoy it :(
Julia says
I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve dumped the whole salt shaker into something…typically it’s scrambled eggs and there’s just noooo distributing all the salt. You’d think I’d learn, but nooooo. This soup looks absolutely fantastic! I want to make it and have my house smell like a straight up wintery cottage out of a fairy tale!
And girl, I’m sorry about your tow away and your curb incident – sometimes life just happens to us…le sigh. Always makes for a good story, though ;)
CakePants says
This soup looks fantastic! I’ve been looking for a good lentil and veggie soup, so I’ll have to give this a try! My mom always told me to pour salt or spices into my hand first and then into the pot – she says that it isn’t good for them to get too close to the heat and steam from the pot. I don’t always follow her rule (oops!), but after hearing your cautionary tale, I’m realizing that pouring into your hand makes sense for a variety of reasons. That’s so sad about the ruined soup!
Arman @ thebigmansworld says
I have low blood pressure. I shall polish off your soup.
Katie Jansen says
I can’t wait to make this but more importantly your soup bowls are adorable!! Where are they from??
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
So maybe that’s why I don’t cook with salt ;)
Amanda @ .running with spoons. says
:lol: I’m laughing -with- you, not at you :P If it makes you feel any better, I once dumped cumin into my oatmeal instead of cinnamon. I usually try to make the best of kitchen mishaps, but I couldn’t save that one. Eek.
Kelly @ Eat the Gains says
Lol. That happened to me the other day with pumpkin pie spice. I thought it had shaker thing on top but nope, just one big opening. Dumped like half the container in. I also forgot baking soda and powder in those muffins, so they were quite the experiment. Def need to try this soup once the temperatures are out of the mid 90s here in Austin.
courtney says
haha love your honesty!
Libby says
This looks so good! I will definitely have to give it a try this fall/winter
[email protected] says
That totally stinks and yet I can relate a little too well.
One time, my cat climbed into my cupboard and broke a brand new bottle of Costco sized olive oil. It spilled onto my counters and floors and I mopped up olive oil for hours that night and hours the next. Also, if I’m recalling it correctly, there was a lot of hysterical laughter and podcasts to accompany me. For the next week, whenever I stepped on the floor boards, olive oil would ooze out of the floor joints.
Love the veggie soup. I’ve got a similar version coming next week. Great minds think alike, eh?!
She Rocks Fitness says
When that happens to you all at once, the best thing to do is LAUGH…Blame it on mercury retrograde! ;) Looks delicious as always and thanks for sharing it…eating with my eyes! XOXO
Monique @ burpees to bubbly says
HA! I don’t mean to laugh, but I can totally picture that situation. That’s happened to me with crushed red pepper and another time with cinnamon- both of which you can KIND OF scoop out…. unlike salt! Photos are still gorgeous though!
Emily Pensky says
Alexis this soup is DELICIOUS! It was perfect timing, too…I was just thinking the day you posted it that I was craving something with lentils, and there it was! Thanks for always posting the best recipes!! You can come to my house and eat some with me, sans all the salt! Lol. I love how human and down to earth you always are….
★★★★★
Jami says
I fixed this for dinner tonight, the whole family loved it. Thank you for sharing!
★★★★★
Alexis says
Amazing! I’m so glad to hear that, Jami!
Sarah smith says
I made this tonight, I followed the reciept , except for the Italian seasoning I used oregano instead. I added 1/2 bell pepper. I used the khnor veg. Broth concentrate and added the correct amount of water. Not sure what happened but mine did not taste so good. I did use fresh tomatoes,pealed and diced. Do you think it was the. Oregano? If so what can I add to it to improve the taste?
Meechum says
I also added frozen sweet peas (my wife’s favorite) and I used kale instead of spinach. A very comforting, hearty soup for a rainy day here in SF.
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ちょうど5ヶ月前には、タグホイヤー大使のＦ１レーサーたちは、2007年ブラジルサンパウロ国際自動車連盟の1級の方程式選手権で記録した全ての前の3名の記録。アカザのコーニングはシーズン終瞭時は維持したタイトルで、その後は現在佳新ドライバーハミルトンと二回の世界チャンピオンメダリストアロンソ。パネライ時計コピーそして3月16日の日曜日、1級の方程式をオーストラリア大会でメルボルン再着火発動。トップな時計工場のように何度も自動車レース、スポンサーに参加して、そして自分の大使に登って表彰台で珍しくない；しかし三位と上位に登場の大使は初めて。ブラジルでの1級の方程式の大会で、三人ともかぶって最新の豪雅グランCarrera腕時計—デザインセンス源于伝奇と神話の色を示し、彼らは前衛的な潮流の投入と情熱。 http://www.msnbrand.com/goods-copy-4779.html
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Mary says
I really enjoyed this soup! I actually just put all the Ingredients in a crockpot for the day with some extra vegetable broth and turned out fantastic!
Alexis says
Sounds so delish! Thanks for trying :)
16 Gluten Free Soups for When You're Sick - Robust Recipes says
Find your recipe here :)
dan says
Love the vegetarian soup
★★★★★
Dea Varner says
This is our favorite lentil soup!! It never disappoints and the broth is soo flavorful!! The Hubs normally doesn’t eat leftovers but he’s already dished himself up a serving to take for his lunch tomorrow lol!!! Am hoping there will be leftovers for me!!! I wanted to give it 5 stars but it wasn’t letting me!! I think it’s worth 10 stars!!!!
★★★★★