Three Lentil Soup (Corner Bakery Style)

I love lentil soup - it is rich, hearty, and plant based! I loved the version they make at the local Corner Bakery but If I am correct - Gasp- it looks like it has been replaced by a Tuscan bean soup. With this in mind I set off to make my own quick and easy version and I was very pleasantly surprised.

Ingredients

2 boxes of Trader Joe's Hearty Vegetable broth (4 cups each)
1 container of Trader Joe's Mirepoix (or 1 cup each onion, celery, and carrot diced)
2 garlic cloves grated on a microplane
2 cups of button mushrooms diced
6 oz bag of Trader Joe's baby spinach
2 cups of pureed tomato
1/4 cup green lentils
1/4 cup red lentils
1/4 cup brown lentils (I found these dry in the bulk section at Whole Foods) but you can also find them steamed in the refrigerated section of Trader Joe's)
1 tsp cumin
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1/4 tsp tumeric
1 bay leaf
1 good shake of Goya Adobo w/ pepper seasoning. Taste and add more if you need more salt.
1 TBS of olive oil and a little more for later. 
Cayenne to taste. I leave mine out of the pot to avoid the inevitable kiddo complaint "It is too spicy".  I just add a dash to my bowl before eating.

Directions:

1. In a large soup pot sautee Mirepoix and garlic in a tablespoon of oil. 
2. Add the chopped mushrooms to the mirepoix. 
3. Roughly chop spinach and add it to the veggies once the mushrooms reduce a little.
4. Add both containers of veggie broth
5. Add the rest of the ingredients except Cayenne. 
6. Let simmer until lentils are cooked and broth loses it's raw tomato taste. I let it come to a very brief boil and then put it on the lowest heat setting until the flavors meld.  I often add an extra drizzle of olive oil to the pot at the end just before serving. 
7. Sprinkle cayenne to taste for those of you who want spice. It really does make it taste fabulous but kids are not always keen on the extra heat. 

Enjoy!