Hearty Lentil and Vegetable Soup

It's funny, when I ate meat, I didn't like soups at all. I found them to be completely unsatisfying, and never filling.  These days, I love soups, stews, chilis...anything that can be eaten with a spoon.  They are SO easy to make protein rich and they are ALWAYS filling.  Last night, the boyfriend made his amazing lentil soup - I think he adapted it from a Food Network recipe, but I'm not sure.  It is especially lovely drizzled with some olive oil and red wine vinegar OR a few dashes of Frank's Red Hot sauce!

2 carrots, chopped
2 stalks celery, diced
1 med. sized onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 cups vegetarian chicken-flavoured broth
1 can diced tomatoes (14oz)
1 cup red lentils
2 bay leaves
1 sprig fresh thyme
1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
salt and pepper

Soften the vegetables with cumin in a large pot with olive oil. Add salt and pepper. Add the broth, tomatoes, lentils, bay leaves and thyme. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until the vegetables and lentils are tender, about 20 minutes. Remove the bay leaves and thyme sprigs. In a blender, purée until smooth. Add more broth if necessary. Add parsley and adjust seasoning to taste. The boyfriend made his usual oven-toasted pita chips brushed with olive oil and salt to go with it and we were both stuffed after only one bowl.  Enjoy!