Lentil Soup

Description

I love to make soup, and to me, soup equals love.  

There's something so satisfying about it--especially when you can make it out of scraps found in the fridge at the end of the week and end up with something yummy and satisfying.  Growing up, mom made a lot of split pea and lentil soup because it was nutritious, filling, and so comforting, not to mention economical.  She made it a lot for Sunday afternoon meals because she could put it on the stove and let it simmer while we were at church.  To this day, I sit in my pew at church and think how lovely it will be to go home and make a nice pot of soup and a batch of fresh bread for dinner.

During my more than 30 years of marriage, I have made a lot of soup. About 15 years ago, I decided to go back to school to get a graduate degree. I hadn't been in school for almost 20 years, so getting back into the swing of studying and attending class four days a week was something of a hurdle. About halfway through my degree program, I got the opportunity to take a good internship, and after some deliberations with Mr. Stone Soup, I took it. This meant that I was working four days a week, and going to school four nights a week. Needless to say, I didn’t have much time for cooking, but  every Sunday, I tried to make a pot of soup and bread so that Mr. Stone Soup would have something to eat during the week while I was away.  I mostly stuck to my basic yeast bread and one of my tried and true soups--split pea or lentil.  It meant taking rather precious time away from my studies to cook, but the smell of the soup with a big ham hock in it simmering and the smell of fresh bread baking on Sunday evenings was such a comfort during a rather stressful time in my life, that I made the time to do it. It meant that Mr. Stone Soup had food for at least a few days while I was away, and that soup and bread on Sundays was my way each week of telling him how much I love him.  He ate a lot of soup and bread during those years. He never once complained. He's truly a keeper.

Now a word about this recipe--I notoriously never measure anything related to lentil or split pea soup--I basically just toss in whatever looks about right and somehow, it always tastes good.  So--I've put together a template for this soup, but--if you've only got a small onion, that's fine.  If you've only got a red onion, that's fine.  If you've only got a few scraps of celery, chop it up and throw it in--that's fine.  The only admonishment I will give is--if you've got a bunch of carrots--only use one of them--the soup can get too sweet if you use too many carrots.

Also, while I don't use them in my soup, my mom and my memaw always add a can of tomatoes to their lentil soup.  It tastes good, but does add a hit of acid.  You can alternatively add a couple of tablespoons of tomato paste.