the vegetarian's eclectic kitchen: Vegetable, Lentil and Dumpling Soup.

We went over to our friend's house for dinner and while the kids were playing Nicole and I made soup.
This is her recipe. I snapped a few shots to post here for you!

You will need:

Three stocks of celery, three medium sized carrots, half a head of cauliflower,
four small potatoes, an onion, a large handful of green beans and about a cup of peas.

A good sprinkle of your favorite spices, we used parsley, rosemary, thyme, sage and marjoram.

Two vegetable bouillon cubes, salt, pepper, and enough oil to cover your soup pot.

A large handful of red and green lentils.

Let's cook:

Cut up the carrots, onions and potatoes into small pieces.

Over medium-low heat, cover the base of the soup pot in oil, and add the onions, carrots, potatoes,
and cook until onions are almost transparent.

Cut up the cauliflower and celery and add to the pot.

Give it a good stir.

Sprinkle a good dash of your spices, salt and pepper.

Give it another good stir. Lower heat untill you add the water.

In a glass measuring cup, pour some boiled water over the bouillon cubes.

Once the bouillons are dissolved add the mixture to the pot.

We added about eight cups of water, just a little more than twice as much water as there are vegetables.
Raise the heat to medium-high and bring to a light boil.

Add the lentils, these cook fast enough that you don't need to pre-soak or pre-boil them!

Add the green beans, cauliflower and peas.

For the dumplings you will need; soy milk, flower, salt and baking powder.

1 cup of flour; 3/4 cup of milk; a dash of salt and 2 tablespoons of baking powder.
In a mixing bowl mix the dry ingredients slowly adding the milk until until a soft dough is formed.
Use your hands to mix the dough until is smooth and no longer sticky,
adding more flour or water as needed.