Pumpkin Lentil Soup

This recipe comes from Caldwell Esselstyn's book Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease.  This is a dish I plan to serve to Simran too, so I'll have to see how much Tabasco sauce seems reasonable to feed to a baby.  I haven't seen the finished product yet, but I have a feeling I'll be taking an immersion blender to all of it and making it a sort of pumpkin lentil bisque, rather than just blending up Simran's portion.  (Lentils and white beans blend up nicely to make soups creamier without adding much of anything but fiber and protein.)

Ingredients
1 large onion, chopped (1 cup)
2-6 garlic cloves, diced
3 ribs celery, chopped (3/4 cup)
3 carrots, chopped
2 cups red lentils
7-8 cups vegetable broth or water
1 large can pumpkin puree
1/4 tsp dried marjoram
1/4 tsp dried thyme
lots of Tabasco

Directions

1. Combine onion, garlic, celery, carrots, lentils and broth or water in a soup pot. Bring to a boil.

2. Lower heat and simmer, covered, 30 minutes, or until vegetables are soft and lentils have turned to mush.

3. Add pumpkin and spices and simmer until all is blended.

4. Add Tabasco to taste. (This is verbatim from the cookbook.)  "The Tabasco makes the difference. You will be surprised at how many shakes you need -- 15 to 20! Be fearless!"
[Edit: After making this, I suggest 5 shakes of Tabasco to start -- enough to add flavor but not enough to overpower.  Sameer added more to his own bowl and said it tasted far too vinegary. He ended up adding La Victoria mild taco sauce and liked it best that way. I liked it as written. Simran screws up her face in distaste with every bite I feed to her, but she does that with most things she perceives as 'new.']