Most of my writing these last few days has happened cuddled up in my husband's large sweatshirt. The candles on the table are lit almost every night and I sometimes pretend they are my wood stove (hmm, someday)! My toes are feeling a bit chilled; "the shift of the seasons is upon us" the bright red tree outside my window seems to say each time it blows in the wind.
Our dinners have involved stewing and roasting and quick stir-fries. Of course, soup is an autumn must in our house and so far is filling bellies with few complaints. The inspiration card sitting on my computer says, "I stay in the NOW and enjoy each and every moment."
As I was making a beautiful green soup for dinner the other night, I was in a mood. The one where you bang loudly as you prepare dinner and try not to talk because otherwise you might cry and then the soup would be far too salty. Oh, you know the mood? I knew the soup would take forever and the kids were starving so I made up some fast PB&J sandwiches, carrots and cucumbers and placed them before my hungry gaggle of kids. They relaxed. Eventually I was able to move through the mood and into completing the soup, lovingly, and talking out my feelings to my husband. (Re-read that, talking, not taking)!
The green broth later brought warmth and the soothing I needed. By moving my energy away from the angry soup making into just was needed, food for kids, space to talk to Patrick, I was able to move into the NOW. I may have felt sad, but opening up the NOW brought me back to the joy that I have. Removing myself from the past and from all expectation of soup or children or reaction was the shift I needed.
The card also says, "This is a new day, one that I have never lived before."
Where could you use the reminder of possibility and remembering the NOW?
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Green Root Vegetable Soup
olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
3 carrots, sliced into circles
3 parsnips, sliced into 1/2 moons
2 cloves garlic, smashed and finely diced
2 bone-in chicken breasts (if you aren't using chicken substitute vegetable broth for water and tofu for the chicken)
cold water, enough to cover the chicken breasts
3 cups kale leaves, roughly chopped, kept in rather large chunks
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp honey
salt, pepper to taste
optional, fresh lemon juice to add before serving and hot sauce for a little depth
In large heavy soup pot, add oil, onion, carrot and parsnip. Saute for 5 minutes and add garlic. After 1 minute add the chicken, water, kale, vinegar, honey, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer and cover for an hour and a half or until chicken is cooked through.
Remove chicken to a cutting board. Remove kale with tongs to a blender (you may need about 1/2 cup broth also). Allow to cool. Remove chicken from bones and add back to soup pot. Blend kale and return to soup pot.
Serve in a deep bowl with some salt and pepper to taste. As you sip the broth remember the NOW.
We had sweet sausage for dinner last night and no sauerkraut was to be found. I made a quick salad of cucumber, carrot, olives and tiny gherkin and dressed it with a nice balsamic dressing full of fresh garlic. Quick and easy and a beautiful side to the sausage. A cup of tea after dinner, a teleclass about gratitude and connection (will be available soon) - complete day. The only thing missing was Harry Potter, we'll make up for it by reading two chapters today, I'm sure.
