(This recipe was adapted from a book, that I have forgotten the title of. It was a vegetarian cook book and one of my favorite, full flavored, easy to make soups. So, I cannot take all the credit, however possibly I can pass it on to someone else to enjoy.)
2 Quarts Water
1 Pint Snappy Tom Juice or Medium to Spicy Tomato Based Vegetable Juice.
3 Medium size Carrots or about one cup of the baby French Carrots, chopped into small pieces
2 Cups of Scallions aka green onions or leeks, chopped
3 to 4 Stalks of Celery chopped fine
1/2 Cup fresh, chopped Parsley
1/2 Cup Chopped Cabbage
3 to 4 Cloves of Garlic, minced or chopped
3 Bay Leaves, whole
1/4 to 1/2 Tsp. Black or White Pepper
I Tblsp. Soup Herbs, such as Mrs. Dash or similar
1/2 to 3/4 Cups, washed Lentils
10 Vegetable Cubes (Make sure that you do not use too many. Some veggie cubes require a ration of one cup of water or two.)
Additional Vegetables of your choice can be added to this soup.
Remember that Lentils will swell slightly, but not as much as other legumes.
I use a two part process to make this soup, however it is not necessary. If you put all the ingredients in a crock to cook all day, that will work.
Make your soup stock on the stove in a large pot. Put the stock into a crock pot.
(If you are in a hurry to make this soup, you can cook the lentils ahead of time by boiling them the night before and/or steam the veggies. The only difference is that the soup will not have time to fully absorb the flavors.)
Combine all of the other ingredients in the crock pot and allow the mixture to cook for approx, 4 to 6 hours. If you are not going to be able to supervise, use the lower heat setting on the crock pot.
For a heartier soup, double the lentils.
