Craving Lentils?

That was me yesterday, all I could think about was eating some yummy, hearty lentil soup. Weird, perhaps, but it did help me get through my flavourless Subway sub at lunch. It baffles me that Subway manages to make both bread (even their supposed whole grain variety) and vegetables absolutely tasteless. I suppose it serves me right for being too lazy to make lunch, but blech. Anyway, lentils. For whatever reason I was craving them yesterday so I went home and made up this lentil soup/stew. It turned out quite well but I think it needs some tweaking with the seasoning - likely a little veggie broth would do the trick. I'm posting it here because it was tasty and I want to remember what I did when I make it again. If you have any thoughts about the seasoning, please let me know.

A Simple Spicy Lentil Soup

1 tbs olive oil
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced - I love garlic, use less if you aren't so keen on it
1 large carrot, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1/2 red pepper, diced
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp coriander - I didn't have ground so used whole
2 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper - less if you don't like spicy soup
1 large potato, cubed
1 cup green lentils, rinsed
6 cups water
2 tbs Braggs - use soy or tamari sauce if you don't have braggs
2 tbs apple cider vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil over medium heat in a large pot. Saute all the veggies (except the potatoes) for 3-5 min, until the onions are soft. Mix in the spices and cook another 2 min or so. Add in the lentils, potatoes, water, Braggs, vinegar, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 45 minutes or until the lentils and potatoes are soft. Enjoy!