red lentil soup with potatoes,kale, & great spices!

I found this on allrecipes.com and the basic recipe is by /ruth Gooch [found here]and this is really a wonderful tasting soup--so much good flavor here. I use Rapunzel brand vegetable broth and this makes a huge difference--it comes in dry form.  I also added 1/4 tsp of cardamom seed. I used regular potatoes.The spices make this soup sooooooo tasty!!  This is also good with apple, sweet potatoes , and green beans added.


Ingredients:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter(I used olive oil and added butter) 1 large sweet onion, chopped 4 stalks celery, chopped 4 medium red potatoes, chopped 1 carrot, chopped 3 cloves garlic 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice 1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1/4 teaspoon of cardamom seed (nannykim's addition) salt to taste (nannykim) DIRECTIONS: 1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion and celery. Cook until tender. Mix in the potatoes, carrot, and garlic. Continue to cook and stir about 5 minutes, until the potatoes are well coated with butter. Season the mixture with allspice, cumin, cayenne pepper, cloves, and pepper.[and cardamom seed if using] 2. Pour in the vegetable broth, and mix in the lentils. Add water, increasing the amount as necessary to cover all ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and stir in the kale. Cook, stirring occasionally, 35 to 45 minutes, until the lentils are tender. Mix in the cilantro and file powder [if using]. Continue cooking about 5 minutes, or to desired thickness.

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves 1 dash pepper 1 quart vegetable broth (I Prefer Rapunzel brand) 1 1/2 cups dry red lentils 2 cups water 1 cup roughly chopped kale 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (I didn't have) 1 teaspoon file powder (I omitted)