I don’t like change. I’m not talking about coin change; I’m talking about adapting to something new.

We experience change every day in the weather or what we eat or which undies we are wearing. (I like changing underwear; it is so refreshing. Don’t you think?)

I do okay with daily changes but unexpected changes just throw me for a loop!

One of the biggest things I have trouble with is when a restaurant has a menu change. Since we do live in a smaller town, I pretty much know most restaurant menus by heart and have my dinner picked out before I even sit down.

But when that restaurant hands me a menu and I see that my dish is taken off, I almost panic. I try to stay calm but it is at that moment I want to tell my husband to just hold me and make it all better. He likes when I do that at home because it makes him feel so manly. He doesn’t like when I do it in a crowded restaurant because, let’s face it, it makes us look like weirdoes.

So one of our favorite restaurants (Sahara) switched things up on us. They moved and changed their name to Pickle & Turnip. Now part of me is wondering if they moved to hide from some of their odd customers. (Not us, of course, we are so normal.) They moved so they could have a bigger space in a better location.

Luckily, the owner (Moe) kept his menu pretty much the same BUT there was something missing at lunch… RED LENTIL SOUP!!! NOOOOOOOO!!!! I love that soup. It was my cold rainy day favorite. How will I survive? I may have to move because I can’t imagine a cool October day without Moe’s red lentil soup.

So I had two choices. I could just have a memorial for Red Lentil soup and go through all of the stages of grieving. (But how can I grieve if I can’t have one of my favorite comfort foods? Wow, is that a vicious circle!)

My other option is to figure out how to adjust to the change and just learn to make my own dang soup. Hmmm, that seems like a reasonable possibility!

I did search for the recipe and tweaked one off of Food Network’s site. Mine is much more brothy than the original but I like a thinner soup. Use a GOOD paprika in this soup, it makes a difference.

I loved it and know it will be on MY menu a lot this year. Maybe change isn’t so bad?

Red Lentil Soup (based and partially quoted off a recipe from Aarti Sequeira)

Ingredients

1 cup red lentils, washed and soaked for 1 hour, drained

3 cloves garlic, chopped

½ Serrano chili, seeded, chopped

1 Tbsp fresh ginger, chopped

1 onion, chopped

1 can of diced tomatoes with juice

32 ounce Vegetable Broth

1 Tbsp grapeseed oil

1 tsp cumin seeds

½ tsp smoked paprika

½ tsp turmeric

Season with salt if needed

Garnish with lemon slices dipped in paprika

Directions:

Combine the lentils, garlic, chile, ginger, onions, tomatoes and vegetable broth in a medium saucepan over medium heat.

Bring the mixture to a boil, and then lower the heat and simmer until the lentils are tender, 30 to 45 minutes, covered.

Use your immersion blender to blend it to your desired consistency.

“Warm the oil in a small sauté pan over medium heat. Add the cumin seeds and cook until they are sizzling and spluttering. Stir in the paprika and turmeric. Pour the seasoned oil onto the lentils (be prepared for a big sizzle).”

Divide into bowls and serve with a squeeze of lemon dipped in paprika.

Like many soups, this even tasted better the next day!