Lentils

Lentis

For legumes- what other can beat lentils?

They lower cholesterol, are high in fiber, help manage diabetes, full of vitamins and minerals, high protein and virtually zero fat. The perfect food? I think so.

I found this recipe ages ago on allrecipes.com (My favorite recipe source) and I had to share it with the Space Hippy blog. It is perfect in the crock-pot-- and as submitted by Grace and Mae, I couldn't write a better recipe.

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)

* 2 onions, chopped
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
* 6 cups water
* 1 cup red lentils
* 1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained
* 1 (19 ounce) can cannellini beans
* 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
* 1/2 cup diced carrots
* 1/2 cup chopped celery
* 1 teaspoon garam masala
* 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
* 1 tablespoon olive oil


DIRECTIONS

1. In large pot saute; the onions, garlic, and ginger in a little olive oil for about 5 minutes.
2. Add the water, lentils, chick peas, white kidney beans, diced tomatoes, carrots, celery, garam masala, cardamom, cayenne pepper and cumin. Bring to a boil for a few minutes then simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or longer, until the lentils are soft.
3. Puree half the soup in a food processor or blender. Return the pureed soup to the pot, stir and enjoy!

I always skip pureeing half the soup- because by the time its ready, my mouth has been watering for an hour and I can't wait to dig in.

The only changes I can make are to make it work for the crock-pot.

I usually just throw the onions, garlic and ginger (ha. when I have ginger) into the crock pot with a little oil on high while I chop the rest of the veggies. Then I add everything, cover and forget about it. Or at least try to forget about it- it smells damn good!