These are the nights where it's easy to identify your gratitude. I've learned there are three levels to gratitude:
1.The things you are grateful for
2. The things you are NOT grateful for
3. The gratitude of just being here, not judging it one way or another
The things you are grateful for is always the easy one, right? I had no trouble this evening identifying all I am grateful for.
Tonight, I sit with my favorite blanket wrapped around me, with the fireplace on, no noise in the house and a steaming cup of tea. Have I painted the cozy picture yet?
I had a great day in the sun with my camera and tripod, taking pictures of family friends for their son's senior pictures, which prompted me to photo my own. With the slight chill to the wind though, I got chilled to the bone as the sun went down, but we all had a great time, and it's so fun to capture the personalities of each one of them.
I baked to warm the house up, had a great working sabbatical weekend, so I'm feeling accomplished, and it feels right to relax and spend this time in gratitude.
So now, the house is clean and quiet and I am spending rare moments alone. Everyone is busy, so I'm alone for supper tonight and to warm my chilled bones, here's what's on my menu...
Coconut Curry Soup
I've been increasing my recipe collection for plant based cuisine, online so they're easier to find than all of my notes and scribbles tucked inside notebooks. Plus, then I get to share them with all of you, and it's easier for my clients to find as well.
I wanted a good warming soup to support the functioning of the cardiovascular system, as well as plenty of quality meat free protein and excellent liver cleansers. Fall just brings out the feeling of preparation, you know? And that includes my body.
I like knowing that my body is functionally prepared and the systems are supported for health and the kind of lifestyle I enjoy. I also like feeding it the kinds of foods that make me feel vital and energetic, with a body that moves when I want to move, so my recipes always have purposeful functioning to them.
Side benefit: This was a smooth recipe to consume when my digestion was poor, and post loss of the use of my legs in 2015, and the consequential relearning to walk, rebuilding muscles and the flexibility of my tendons again, my nutrition, exercise and movement routines changed necessarily. Now, though, as my body, my physical shape and fitness, and my exercise abilities are back to normal I've been able to do the kinds of workouts I was doing before. As I've refocused on plant based proteins, my body has slimmed into the lean narrow muscle I've been working towards, so those that are athletes that think they can ONLY eat meat protein to gain the muscle, lean or bulk that they desire, I'm here to prove them wrong.
This is one of my favorite recipes for these goals listed above.
Coconut Curry Soup
Sauté 1 cup sliced mushrooms, 1 clove garlic and 1/4 cup celery in 1 Tablespoon olive oil
Add 3 stalks sliced green onion and toss with the mushrooms and celery.
Put in a food processor or Vitamix along with:
1 cup coconut milk
2 cups vegetable broth
1/2 can coconut milk cream
Add seasonings:
Pinch cayenne
1 teaspoon each of curry, ginger, and salt
1 Tablespoon turmeric
1/2 container of Tofutti cream cheese (which I'm not entirely fond of because I find it an incredibly processed food, so sometimes, I use 1 cup of baked butternut squash instead. Either one with give it the creaminess I'm looking for)
Blend until smooth.
Pour into a soup pan to simmer. At this point, I like to add some VERY thinly sliced mushrooms and some more thinly sliced green onions.
It's best to simmer until warm, or can be left in a crockpot during the day.
When it comes to serving, slice a few radishes on top an serve with sourdough.
I love to add quinoa to my bowl, as well, so have a pot of cooked quinoa ready to add to your soup if you want the benefits quinoa brings, including extra protein and iron.
