Every year I post this recipe on New Year’s Eve or Day. We used to call it Grandma’s Good Luck soup and my grandma made a big pot of it every year. On New Year’s Day all of my cousins, Colleen and I would gather around my grandmother’s table to enjoy this hearty soup. My mother carried on the tradition over the years and as family traditions are I guess it’s my turn to continue on with it! We were always told that lentils are good luck and a symbol of money. Therefore, we kids gobbled it right up thinking it was an easy and tasty way of hitting the jackpot.

Today I actually took the time to find out the real story and this is what I found……lentils, are considered to be symbolic of money, and thus considered a harbinger of prosperity and good luck in the new year. Several of them resemble coins, and the fact that they swell up when soaked in water also extends the analogy that the prosperity grows with time. I’ll take it!

As I read last year’s post it said 2017 was going to be the year as it had a lucky 7 in it. It didn’t quite turn out that way. We lost four family members over this past year. We have been blessed to have great longevity in my mom’s family for generations so this was quite a hit given two of them were young on all accounts. Mom and Aunt Fran certainly enjoyed long lives, but the quickness of their passing and the interval between their deaths gave our family a jolt. God has a plan for all of us and that’s how we get through it.

So here’s to a better 2018! You’ve gotta believe. We have some great plans in the works for 2018 – some fun, some hard work, some letting go, some rebooting, etc, so things are shaping up. I know it’s going to be good. Wishing all of you a happy and healthy 2018! Cheers! Now go out and get the ingredients and make some of this “Good Luck Soup!” 🙂

Lentil Soup

Be sure to have some of this soup on New Year's Day!

Ingredients

½ c celery, finely chopped
1 sm. onion, finely chopped
2 med. carrots, finely chopped
2 Tbsp. olive oil
3 cloves of garlic
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 bag dried lentils
Salt, Pepper and Garlic Powder to taste
1 Bay Leaf
4 qts of water

Instructions

In a large soup pot add the olive oil and grate in 2 cloves of garlic and saute the onions, celery and carrots with a touch of salt, pepper, and garlic powder over medium heat. Fry until done. While that is cooking, rinse the lentil beans and set aside. Add the water to the veggies and then add the lentil beans. Cook over medium heat and add more salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste. Add in the bay leaf and the other garlic clove (whole). Continue to cook until the lentils are soft.