I started with a simple google search for “ground beef, lentils, recipe” and this was one of the suggested links, “Beef & Lentil Soup“. I can’t find the “shawarma spice mix” that I found online. Thought there was a link from the soup recipe page to it, but can’t find it now.

What did I include in my spice mix? Cardamom, cayenne, cinnamon, coriander, cumin, smoked paprika, and S&P.

I added some diced tomatoes & potatoes, just a little zucchini, garlic powder about half beef broth & half chicken broth.

This turned out really good. I didn’t make this “sweet” and the unusual spices for me, provided a unique savory flavor. I think I’ve had some of these spices at Sherefe when they made the sweet potato soup.

I do not recall if the above soup that I had a Sherefe was sweet potato or pumpkin soup. It was savory, and delicious. And, at a later time, the chef was not able to repeat the deliciousness. Much like me, in that, on a certain day, with certain ingredients available I can create something delicious, and not remember all the steps or ingredients, or amounts of each that went into making it good.

*This reminded me of a time, when I used several graphics design applications when I was “playing”. The two apps I recall using were “Painter” and “Paintshop Pro”. I used the letter “A” and doctored it up in various ways, with one program. I made it look real, with drop shadow, and then I brought the image into another graphics program and modified it with some special filters just in that app. I ended up with a pock marked 3D image of the letter A. The pock mark looked something like a barnacle. But, as soon as I was finished, I realized that I couldn’t do this again, even if I needed to. I didn’t remember all of the steps I had used, and there was a matter of artistic flow in the creation. If I slowed down to record each step of the process, the creation would have been severely impeded. I had to work at a certain speed, and with the knowledge and experience I had at that moment.