Eating is Art

I made this dish tonight as I was totally - yeah. In a bad frame of mind. I chopped and chopped and sauteed and made this great stew. I was inspired by a very sweet lady's recipe and this is what I made out of it. This is excellent with my pita recipe.

1 large onion, chopped
5 stalks celery, washed and 3/4 dice, including leaves
8 carrots, peeled and cut to 3/4 coins
3 potatoes, peeled and 3/4" dice
3 cloves garlic, diced
1 1/2 lbs. linguisa sausage, 1/4" dice
1/2 lb. black forest ham steak, 1/4" dice
2 zucchini, 1/4" dice
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)
15 oz. can petite dice tomatoes
28 oz. can tomato puree
16 oz or two cups lentils, sorted and washed
1 cube chicken boullion (or 1 tablespoon loose)
3 fresh bay leaves
1 tablespoon hot chili sauce (or Tabasco)
salt and pepper to taste

Now that you've done all that chopping, heat the oil and butter on medium high. Add the first seven ingredients (not the zucchini) for a nice saute for about ten minutes or until the vegetables are soft and it smells so good that strangers are walking in off the street saying, "OMG what are you cooking!?" Pour in the diced tomatoes, the puree, 3 puree cans of water, the lentils, the boullion, and the bay leaves. Cook for 1 1/2 hours at a gentle covered simmer. Twenty minutes before serving, add the zucchini. Just before serving, add chili sauce and correct the seasoning. Serve with pita, rolls, or toast.