My Favorite Lentil Soup!!

Red lentil soup with cumin!

I will never forget the first time I had what is now my favorite soup ever. It was the day before I moved to Pennsylvania from Seattle. I don't really remember why.but I was at the Northgate mall for some reason, and I got a bowl of soup from a little Greek restaurant in the food court. I remember not having very high hopes, because food court. In a mall. Anyway, I was proven soooooo wrong for my snobbiness. It was love at first bite. Up until this point in my life I had little to no experience with red lentils. This soup was creamy, and so simple, but it had this flavor that I was unfamiliar with. I just wanted more and more. Once I had been living in Erie for awhile, I came to the realization that I was not going to find this soup anywhere in Erie. I wanted to Google it of course, but I didn't even know what it was called! Somehow, I remembered the name of the restaurant, and I called them and asked what was in it. I told the guy that I had dreamed of it, and I was now living in another state, and I NEEDED it in my life. I felt so silly when he said onion, cumin, water, red lentils, and salt and pepper of course. I guess up until that point I had cumin with other seasonings, never really as the star of the dish. I have made this soup at least a trillion times since that phone call. Sometimes I get fancy and add garlic and crushed red pepper to the mix, but in all honesty I usually stay true to the original ingredients. I made this for dinner last night, and I hadn't had it in awhile, and as soon as I had my first bite I knew I had to talk about this humble, satisfying soup.
Here is a kind of recipe.
                                                             The Best Red lentil Soup

• One onion diced
• One Tablespoon Ground cumin
• One Cup Red Lentils 
• S&P toTaste

 Sautee the onion in one to two teaspoons olive oil, (or water if you don't do oil) add salt and pepper to taste, along with cumin. Stir until the cumin is fragrant, about one to two minutes. Add lentils, and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for twenty to thirty minutes. What I really love about red lentils is how creamy they become once they break down. Anyway, as you can see this recipe is barely even a recipe. It's so easily adaptable to what you have on hand. I've added kale and potatoes, carrots and celery, and sometimes I add a dash of turmeric. It just depends on my mood, and what I need to use up. It definitely reminds you that simple is really delicious, and definitely not bland or tasteless. I love to serve my soup wit a toasted pita, or some kind of bread to sop up every last bit.