Stewed Lentils & Tomatoes (updated)

Heat the 2 tablespoons of oil in a large saucepan.  Add the onions and carrots and cook over medium-low heat for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions start to brown.  Add the garlic and cook for one minute. 

Meanwhile, place the tomatoes, including the juice, in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse several times until the tomatoes are roughly chopped. 

Add the tomatoes, lentils, chicken stock, curry, thyme, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper to the pot.   Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer, covered, for 30 to 40 minutes, until the lentils are tender.  Stir occasionally, scraping the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon and check to be sure the liquid is simmering.  (I pull the pot halfway off the burner to keep it simmering.) Remove from the heat and allow the lentils to sit covered for another 10 minutes.  Stir in the vinegar, check the seasonings, serve hot or warm.

Protips: Garlic burns easily so you want to cook it for only a minute.

To remove thyme leaves from the stem, run your fingertips down the stem from top to bottom and the leaves will fall off.