Lentil soup

2 lbs. Italian sausage 2 tbsp. olive oil 5 cloves garlic, peeled, minced 1 large soup bone 2 cups lentils 4 large stalks celery, thinly sliced 1/2 cup dried mushrooms 1/2 cup chopped parsley (optional) A bay leaf (optional) 1/4 lb. salami or prosciutto cut into 1/8-inch cubes 4 large carrots, in 1/8-inch dice 1 medium size onion, whole 1 teaspoons salt (or, to taste) 1/2 teaspoon pepper 3 quarts beef broth 1 10 oz package frozen chopped spinach (or 1 lb fresh) Wash and pick over lentils. Soak at least 2 hours; overnight is better. In a large Dutch oven or soup pot, saute broken up sausage (removed from casings) and chopped salami or prosciutto in olive oil over medium high heat for 10 minutes; add garlic after sausage begins to brown and cook for 3 more minutes. Cover dried mushrooms with water and soak same as lentils. Reserve liquid. Drain water off lentils and place them in soup kettle with all ingredients (except broth and spinach). Use liquid reserved from mushrooms and add sufficient broth (or a combination of water and broth - beef or vegetable soup base may be added to the water as recommended on pkg) to make 3 quarts. Add to ingredients in soup kettle. Bring to a hard boil; then lower heat and simmer over very low heat for at least 4 hours, or until lentils are tender. (You can use a Crock-Pot if you have a setting that doesn\'t boil the soup). Skim fat from soup. Add spinach during the last 30 minutes; 15 minutes if using fresh spinach. If soup is not thick enough to suit taste, 2 potatoes may be diced extra fine and cooked with soup for about 45 minutes, or just simmer the soup for a longer time until it thickens, or add some soup pasta such as tubettini. If soup is too thick, remove 1 cup of the lentils and puree them in the blender with 2 cups beef broth and return the mixture to the soup. Makes about 12 servings.