I usually use chicken stock in my vegetable soup but this week I said I would make a vegan soup for our lunch at Bible Study.  It was delicious and the lentils made it a bit heartier than a plain vegetable.
This soup takes just a few minutes to put together and then an hour and a half of cooking time.
Canned tomatoes are so very good for us.

This recipe will make 6 to 8 medium servings

2 TBLSP. olive oil or grapeseed oil
1 medium onion diced
1 stalk of celery diced
1 large carrot diced
2 cups finely chopped kale
1 tsp. course salt
3 cloves garlic minced
pepper to taste. I like a course black pepper
*Optional 1 sprig of fresh rosemary
1 796 ml can of diced tomatoes (I prefer tomatoes from Italy. They are thicker, richer and more flavourful. you can buy Italian tomatoes at many grocery stores these days)
rinse the tomato can with 1 cup of water and add to soup.
4 cups vegetable stock. A carton from whole foods or your local grocery store is just fine.
1 cup brown or green lentils

The day before I made this recipe I received a gift of some fresh spices, from India. I wanted to use some of them so I did.
My secret ingredients in this recipe were:
2 whole star anise
4 cloves

METHOD:
In a large saucepan put oil and saute’ onion, celery, carrot on medium heat, for five minutes, until they begin to soften
add garlic and cook for two minutes
add kale, salt and pepper
stir
add tomatoes, water and stock.
stir and simmer for five minutes
add lentils and spices
bring to a boil and stir
reduce heat to low and continue to simmer for one and a half hours or until lentils are soft.
remove the anise and cloves (or warn your people to look for them in their bowl)

serve with sandwiches
egg salad
grilled cheese
tuna
chicken and cheese

enjoy!