Lemony Red Lentil Soup

When I saw this recipe on 101 cookbooks, I knew I had to make it.  I knew because the dish looked fantastic, and I knew because my heart was warmed by Heidi's paeon to her family's old cat, who looks like he was far sweeter in life that my little ground-monster.  I made enough modifications to the recipe that I'll go ahead and re-write the whole thing here.  I would definitely use red lentils and not try to sub brown: the red practically melt away with just 20-30 minutes of cooking and blend with the yellow turmeric to create the most beautiful autumn hue.

Here goes: Lemony Red Lentil Soup
Cook barley (or another grain) or fetch leftover grain.
Meanwhile, in a large pot, melt 2T butter.
Chop 1 sweet onion, sweat it in the butter.
Add 2t ground cumin and ~1/2T mustard, cook for another minute or two.
Add ~7c veggie stock, 2c red lentils (rinsed and picked), and 1T turmeric.
Bring to a boil, and then turn temperature down to simmer.
Once the lentils are cooked through, add 2-3T (I pref. 3) lemon juice, a handful of chopt cilantro, and salt to taste.
Place a scoop of the grains in each bowl and cover with soup.  Stir in something creamy. I used goat cheese, which was FANTASTIC.  Cream cheese or greek yogurt would be OK, too.
I served it with kale on the side.

Makes ~6 servings.

Om nom!!

On a completely different note, tonight I plan to solve the mystery of which is the better Fright Night: '80s or '10s.  Stay tuned.