Kitchen Ready Soup - Lentil Soup

This is a great soup for me because it contains ingredients that are usually always in my kitchen. It's quick, tasty, and easy. The first time I made it was this past month, with my niece Isabelle, for our last meal together before she left us to, of all things, spend the summer with her parents! I know! Kids these days have their priorities all mixed up!
Addendum: I didn't have red lentils on hand, but I did have green lentils and tried the recipe using these as a substitution, and it was quite tasty. This makes the soup far more flexible!

1 large onion (10oz/285gr), chopped

1 Tbsp vegetable oil

4 garlic cloves (20grams), finely chopped

1 tsp ground cumin

1 bay leaf

2 sprigs of fresh thyme

1 1⁄2 cup split red lentils or green lentils

3 1⁄2 cups chicken (or vegetable) broth

2 cups water (add 1 cup more if you want it soupier)

1 tsp salt
1⁄2 tsp pepper

2 Tbsps chopped flat-leaf parsley for garnish

lemon wedges as accompaniment

1. In the soup pot, heat the oil and start by cooking the onion over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion has softened. This should take about 8 minutes.
2. Add the garlic, cumin, bay leaf, and thyme and cook, stirring, 1 minute more. Add the lentils, broth, water, salt, and pepper; simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are very soft and falling apart, about 30 to 45 minutes.
3. Optional - coarsely blend with an immersion blender.
4. Stir in the parsley and adjust the season until it tastes right to you.
5. Serve with a spritz of lemon to brighten the soup.