Red Lentil Soup with Carrots and Sweet Potatoes

My kind of meal...barely have to be awake to prepare it, comforting, and nutritious.  Green Kitchen Stories blog comes through with another winner.  Easily adapted to use any veggies you may have lingering in the fridge, we first ate it topped with kale braised in broth with spices (turmeric, fresh nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, pepper...adding a splash of cider vinegar and Tabasco at the end), and I just had leftovers topped with grated raw zucchini, toasted walnuts, avocado and a touch of Tabasco.  So basically, just do whatever you want to the base and it's sure to be delicious!  I'm gonna call it Orange Soup from now on, since everything that goes into it is just that.  Check out Green Kitchen Stories blog post for pretty pics and a topping with eggplant added to the kale (eggplant is not Monster-friendly, hence it's absence in our meal).

Red Lentil Soup with Carrots and Sweet Potatoes:
(Green Kitchen Stories blog)

1 Tbs coconut oil, or ghee
1 large onion, chopped
2 sweet potatoes, diced ~3/4" (I buy organic sweets and don't peel them)
4 carrots, chopped
4 sprigs of fresh thyme (just toss them in whole and fish the stems out before pureeing, stripping them of any remaining leaves)
1 cup uncooked red lentils, well rinsed and drained
4 cups water
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large pot, add onions and saute for about 5 minutes on medium-high.
Add sweet potatoes, carrots, thyme and cook for a couple more minutes.
Add rinsed lentils, water, sea salt, and pepper, cover and let simmer for 20-25 minutes until the vegetables and lentils are soft.

Use an immersion blender to puree the soup.  Taste and adjust seasonings if needed.  Add braised greens to top (or whatever you like veggie-wise)

Braised Kale:
1 bunch of kale, ribs removed, torn into bite sized pieces, rinsed
pat of butter
~1/2 cup vegetable broth
~1/2 tsp turmeric
~1/4 tsp cinnamon
~1/4 tsp fresh grated nutmeg (if you only have pre-ground use less)
salt/pepper
~1 Tbs cider vinegar
splash of Tabasco if desired

Heat butter over medium-high heat in a large pot.
Saute kale until wilted.
Add veggie broth and spices through salt and pepper, cover, reduce to simmer and cook for 10-12 minutes.
Taste for doneness, add vinegar and Tabasco and remove from heat.