Preheat a soup pot over medium heat. Saute the onions in the olive oil for 5 to 7 minutes, until translucent.

Add the rice, bay leaves, thyme, marjoram, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes, then fill up the can with water twice and add the water (so that"s 56 ounces of water).

Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for about 45 minutes.

Remove the garlic from the oven. When it is cool enough to handle, squeeze the roasted garlic out of its skin and into a small bowl. Use a fork to mash the garlic to a relatively smooth consistency, then add to the soup once the rice is nearly tender.

When the rice is completely cooked, add the beans and heat through. Then it"s ready to serve-just remove the bay leaves beforehand.

ANCHO-LENTIL SOUP WITH GRILLED PINEAPPLE.

SERVES 6.

TIME: 45 MINUTES.

Okay, even though this recipe involves you making your own chile powder, we promise this is a fast soup that is even a little fancy. Not to mention yummy, warm and comforting. The tart-sweet pineapple couples well with the deep, smoky chiles. Ancho chiles are fairly mild, so don"t worry that this soup will be too spicy, unless you"re a real big wimp. In fact, serve with hot sauce to prove your manhood.

Chile powder: 1 tablespoon c.u.min seeds

1 tablespoon coriander seeds

2 dried ancho chile, seeds removed, ripped into bite-size pieces

Soup: 2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, cut into small dice

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups green lentils, washed

7-8 cups vegetable stock or water or a mix of both

3 tablespoons of lime juice, or to taste

Nonstick cooking spray

6-8 pineapple rings

Slices of lime

Hot sauce

WE"RE GOING to make our own ancho chile powder! Preheat a small skillet over medium-low heat. Add the c.u.min seeds and ancho chile pieces and stir often, until fragrant and toasted, 3 to 5 minutes.

Transfer to a spice grinder (we use a clean coffee grinder) or small food processor and grind to a coa.r.s.e powder. Some bigger pieces of chile are okay. Add the coriander seeds and pulse a few times to crush them-you don"t want them completely ground to a powder, just broken up pretty well.

Preheat a big stockpot over medium heat. Saute the onions in the olive oil until transparent, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the chile powder and mix into the onions. Add the bay leaves, salt, lentils, and 7 cups of water. Mix well. Raise the heat to high, cover, and bring to a boil. Once the soup is boiling, lower the heat to medium-low and let simmer for 30 minutes, stirring every now and again.

Meanwhile, heat your grill pan over high heat or preheat a broiler. Spray your grill pan with cooking spray and grill the pineapple slices for 4 minutes on each side, or until grill lines appear. If using a broiler, cook on one side for 3 minutes and on the other for about 2 minutes, until the pineapple begins to brown and slightly caramelize.

Once the lentils are tender, add an extra cup of water/stock if you think the soup needs thinning. Add the lime juice and stir.

Remove the bay leaf. Use an immersion blender to puree about half the soup. If you don"t have an immersion blender, use a potato masher to mash it up a bit, until the desired thickness is achieved. Taste and adjust the salt.

To serve: Ladle into bowls and top with a pineapple ring, a slice of lime, and a few dots of hot sauce.

BROCCOLI-POTATO SOUP WITH FRESH HERBS.

SERVES 6 TO 8.

TIME: 50 MINUTES.

This vibrant soup is a great start to a Mediterranean meal.Try it our way with fresh dill and mint, but keep in mind that it"s also really versatile. So if the day should come when all you"ve got is some potatoes, onions, and garlic, you can use this recipe as a guideline and add the herbs and spices of your choice. But if you mess it up with some crazy subst.i.tution, please don"t go giving us two-star reviews on Amazon.

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium-size onion, cut into inch dice

3 cloves garlic, minced

teaspoon dried tarragon

Several pinches of freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

6 cups vegetable stock, or 4 cups veggie stock plus 2 cups water, whatever

2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into -inch chunks

4 cups chopped broccoli (including the stalks: chop them into thin slices, and the tops into small florets)