Gypsy Soup ala Me

I came up with this one day when my fridge was out of everything the Moosewood recipe called for. I actually went back a while later and did the real recipe and didn't like it as much...

- cook 2 cups chopped onions, 2 cloves minced garlic and 2 cups sweet potatoes (ALSO: I FORGOT: one chopped red pepper!) in vegetable oil for five minutes or so.
Add 2 tsp paprika, 1 tsp basil, 1 tsp salt, a dash of cinnamon, a dash of cayenne, one bay leaf and 3 cups chicken stock (the recipe calls for water, vegetarian readers!).

Throw in a couple of handfulls of red lentils (unless your hands are the size of baseball gloves, in which case you might only want to throw in one handful. But they're probably not.) Simmer for half an hour or so, stirring occasionally. When your lentils are cooked and your sweet potatoes are mushy, voila, you have lunch!
(adapted from a Moosewood Recipe)