This soup is great year round. It's very nutritious and makes a great hot lunch for school aged children. I serve this with a Caesar salad, freshly baked cheese bread and spicy cheddar biscuits.

Ingredients:

1 ¾ cups green/brown lentils (picked over)

10 cups water

4 vegetable bouillon cubes, crumbled

1 medium potato, peeled and diced

2 bunches spinach, washed and coarsely chopped

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1 onion, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

½ tsp. ground pepper

2 tsp. ground cumin

3 Tbsp. lemon juice

Rinse lentils. In soup pot, place lentils, water, bouillon cubes, potato and spinach. Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 45 minutes.

While lentils are cooking, heat oil in skillet and sauté onion and garlic over medium heat for 5 minutes.

Add onion mixture to lentils. Stir in cilantro, pepper, cumin and lemon juice. Simmer for 5 minutes.

For a non-vegan version, you can use beef bouillon instead of the vegetable.

For an extra zip of flavor, cut and cook 1/2 package of bacon. Add the cooked bacon into the onion and garlic mixture.

Enjoy!