Innovation is limited only by imagination. (Well, that’s not quite true. It can also be limited by physics and chemistry, but those were not my strong subjects in school, so I tend to disregard them whenever possible.)

Where was I? Oh, right. I had three different (very different) lentil soup recipes in front of me this morning (morning!) when I was putting together the latest concoction. I knew what I wanted to start with, because last night in the wee hours I was chopping onions, carrots and celery.

As you know, I’m not a trained chef. Most of what I know about cooking I learned from (a) the Food Network, and (2) a massively diverse collection of cookbooks. I know that the blending of flavors is something you learn over time, or from someone who knows what they’re talking about. For now, I’m making stuff up as I go along. I had three recipes, so I picked parts and pieces from all of them, threw it all in the crock pot, and stirred every couple of hours.

The last time I made this soup, I added some of my favorite spices to the basic recipe: cumin, turmeric and curry powder. This time, because they were in one of the other recipes, I put in some cinnamon and freshly grated ginger as well.

Maybe that’s a little too much of one thing or not enough of another, but I can always try something different next time. That’s assuming I can remember what I did this time, of course. I wrote it down as I went along, but I didn’t keep track of the amounts because I didn’t really measure. I’m sort of a haphazard cook at best. It’s probably just as well that I cook almost exclusively for myself (not that I wouldn’t share with you if you really wanted to try it).

The texture of the soup was fantastic, just what I was going for. The flavor was terrific, although I’d probably leave out the cinnamon and try something different next time. I’m all about experimenting, until I find the perfect combination. And then, I’d probably change it up again, just for fun. I’m thinking I could add diced butternut squash and apples, but I’d probably wait for the last couple of hours before putting in the squash, to keep it from getting mushy. I should use greens in these soups more, too. I just want to keep going with this as long as I can, and variety is what’s going to help me do that.