The hand blender is hands down my favorite kitchen appliance. Well, that and the automatic coffee maker that fills my house with the tangy roasted smell of Starbucks every morning. This is a critical moment in my day as I practically fall down the stairs carrying an infant in one arm and a groggy toddler in the other who demands Deadmaus5 before 7:00am. I haven’t put on a bra, the nanny is on her way, I have 30 minutes to pack work lunches, get dressed, and apply make-up.

But that’s another story.

Yesterday I found a simply amazing recipe for vegan spicy red lentil soup that took an hour to make but my instinct tells me should have only taken me 30 minutes. I mean I literally had 2 mixing bowls, a soup pot, two pans, a very messy food processor and a dishwasher going. Insanity. Who has that kind of time and patience? I think we can dumb this down to a one-pot plus one-pan wonder. It cost me less than $10 for the ingredients and only slightly more for the Jerusalem salad I served on the side.

2 cups red lentils, rinsed and picked over
8 cups water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
5 to 6 cloves garlic, chopped
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
4 cups vegetable stock
¾ teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon Tabasco sauce (I used Goya salsa picante hot sauce)
¼ teaspoon turmeric
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoons salt
¾ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon chili powder
¼ cup cornstarch + ¼ cup hot water
½ green pepper, ribs and seeds removed, diced

In a small dish, combine cumin, turmeric, cayenne pepper, salt, black pepper, chili powder and Tabasco sauce. Set aside. Sort lentils (pick out any stones / damaged lentils) and rinse. In a pan, add olive oil and saute garlic for 2 minutes, then add celery and onion and cook additional 3 minutes, stirring constantly. In a soup pot, combine lentils and 4 cups of water. Bring to a boil over high heat. As soon as boiling, turn to medium low heat. Add onion/celery mixture to the lentil and cook for 20 minutes until lentils are tender. Add small bowl of spices to the soup and cook for 30 seconds. Now, toss in canned tomatoes. Add vegetable stock and remaining 4 cups of water. Finally, mix cornstarch with hot water until well combined and add to soup. Stir constantly over high heat for 30 to 45 seconds to thicken. Finally, take hand blender and puree the soup until smooth and creamy. Turn off heat; add diced green pepper.

Here is the original Wegman’s recipe: http://www.wegmans.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10052&partNumber=RECIPE_5575