Sweet Sweet Lomatato Soup

I decided to fiddle with a lentil soup recipe on Sunday that I'd seen on-line earlier in the week. And fiddle I did, the end-result looking so very different from the original recipe that I'm not even gonna credit it.

The best part of this soup was naming it... Lomatato Soup. Get it?? GET IT?!?!?! *slapping knee and chortling* Lentil tOMAto sweet poTATO soup! It rolls right off the tongue, doesn't it? *Picturing some hottie wooing his girlfriend after a long day spent cooking for her in the kitchen, beads of sweat glistening off his well-built chest (because all well-built boyfriends cook topless in the kitchen, no?), a towel thrown over his forearm all waiter-ly, as he bends to her in soft candle-light and says, "Darling, I made this for you--it's Sweet Sweet Lomotato Soup, just like you..." *Fade out as they kiss over this very bowl of soup*

*Jumping up and down with glee and clapping hands*

Anyways, my favorite part of this recipe is the fact that you cook the lentils with a cinnamon stick, jalapeno pepper, bay leaf, and some ginger. How brilliant is that? (That's the part I snagged from the aforementioned recipe, lest I sound really really conceited.) And the lentils are FANTASTIC-tasting because of it--a little bit of zing and some bing-bang-boom in them. Quite honestly, the lentils were so flavorful that I was a bit disappointed once I added the sweet potato--its sweetness overpowered their delicate and zippy flavor. The soup is still quite yummy and sweet, but I think next time I might actually try it without the sweet potato or with the sweet potato cubed instead of blended in with the actual soup-base.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 c. brown lentils


• 3 c. water


• 1 t. ginger (or some fresh ginger chunk)


• 1 cinnamon stick


• 1 jalapeno, deseeded and cut in half


• 1 bay leaf


• 1 sweet potater


• 1 c. sliced green beans


• 1 stalk celery, diced


• 1 red pepper, diced


• Olive oil


• 2 t. coriander


• 1 t. turmeric


• Salt to taste


• 2 c. water


• About 3 c. crushed tomatoes

DIRECTIONS
Place lentils and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, and add the ginger, cinnamon stick, jalapeno, and bay leaf. Reduce heat, and simmer the lentils for 30 minutes.
In the meantime, boil your sweet potato for about 30-40 minutes (or until tender). Remove the skin and mash.

Toss a tablespoon or two of olive oil into a pan, and add your green beans, celery, red pepper, and seasonings. Cook until all the veggies are tender.
Once your lentils are done, remove the ginger (if you used a fresh chunk), cinnamon stick, jalapeno, and bay leaf. Puree half with a hand-held blender or in a food processer.

Add your 2 c. water and 3 c. crushed tomatoes to a large soup pot. Add in your lentils, your mashed sweet tater, and all your vegetables. Mix well, bring to a boil, and simmer on low for about 30 minutes.

Consume.

Makes a large pot--anywhere from 4-8 servings, depending on how hungry you are.