Cooking a soup that feeds that deeper part of you

My dear dear friend Natasha is a inspiration and a absolute powerhouse of a woman/mama.  She has 3 kids under 5, she saves turtles by the day, she crafts hard & impeccably, she up keeps a massive back yard garden food forest play land, and she cooks food straight from her hearth to her families souls.

We met when we were 14.  We were freedom catchers as we embarked on those carefree years hanging out the side of her red Ford Escort yelling ska songs, surfing our weekends away, counting our pennies to buy old wetsuits and new costumes to go skateboarding in.  She was my wild partner, a jokester, a compadre of goofness if you will.  We found limits and tested them.

Back in da day

She is still with me as we embark on new life adventures as women with growing families and I am in awe of her, constantly.

She is pure magic because there is a certain grace and compassion that she exudes as a friend and a mother.  She has inspired me with her tenacity as a woman with fierce determination with a balance of being a unconditional nurturer and lover of everything.  After I had Arlo ( and she was pregnant with her 3rd) I called her with this new found realization that she was either totally crazy or super human.  How on earth does she do it?  There is a flow and a ryhthm that she appears to mother with that just purely works.

Now I know that perfection is a perspective.  Her outer core looks flawless but she is honest about her intense days with the 3 rascals on her tail.   She told me, “On those days I just long for bedtime!  The really awesome thing about parenting is that each new day presents itself with a new opportunity to do things differently- to reconnect, to be good to each other, and to keep learning.”  Always one to see the silver lining she schooled me again.  It is true.  New days that embrace us each morning do seem so much fresher after you have kids.  There is something about it that feels less monotonous then life without children.  You know that the book is being written all over again each and every day with them.  Within that book is a rhythm that I have created that allows for surprises while also feeling like I have found a groove.

Arlo sleeping next to handmade doll by Natasha

Natasha is a domestic goddess and she fuels me with new recipes and ideas daily.  Natasha sent me a handmade doll this Christmas along with this epic cookbook I felt, once again, in awe of how she always pulls through.  I began thumbing through this cookbook finding new inspiration to feed my own Hestia within.  The goddess of the hearth and kitchen has been calling to me these last few weeks in the mid winter mode as this mama craves some soul food!

When I asked Natasha traits that she has learned since becoming a mother she responded, “Patience is the biggest, the capacity to love, and showing empathy”.  She has the grand capability of possessing all of these traits and I really think she is one rocking babe.  So this post is dedicated to her and the extended family that she supports.  Her love goes deep and my roots are connected to her and her family.

So speaking of feeding the soul we should all feed ourselves and our men, our babes, and our ladies this soup because it is pretty magnificent.  It nurtures, just like a good mom always does.  We all need food that satisfies our deepest hungers and grounds us.  This soup did this to me today. Courtesy of http://ohsheglows.com/

10-Spice Vegetable Soup

Vegan, gluten-free, grain-free, refined sugar-free, soy-free

The ultimate bowl of comfort food, made with a decadent creamy broth and loaded with an array of health-boosting spices and vegetables. Be sure to soak the cashews in water the night before (or for at least 2 hours) so they are ready when you plan to make the soup.  Recipe lightly adapted from The Oh She Glows Cookbook by Angela Liddon. Avery Publishing, an imprint of Penguin Books © 2014.

Ingredients:

For the soup:

• 3/4 cup raw cashews, soaked
• 6 cups vegetable broth, divided
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 large cloves garlic, minced
• 1 sweet or yellow onion, diced
• 3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups peeled and chopped sweet potato, regular potato, or butternut squash
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 (28-ounce/796-mL) can diced tomatoes, with their juices (or sub with fresh tomatoes – see blog post for my how-to)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1-1  1/2 tablespoons Homemade 10-Spice Blend (recipe follows), to taste
• Fine-grain sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 to 2 cups baby spinach or destemmed torn kale leaves
• 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas or other beans, drained and rinsed (kidney beans are fun too)

Homemade 10-Spice Blend (makes 1/2 cup):

• 2 tablespoons smoked paprika
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fine grain sea salt
• 1 teaspoon white pepper (optional)
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions:

1.  Place cashews in a bowl and add enough water to cover. Soak the cashews overnight, or for at least 2 hours. Drain and rinse the cashews.
2. In a blender, combine the soaked and drained cashews with 1 cup of vegetable broth and blend on the highest speed until smooth. Set aside.
3. In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and sauté for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the onion is translucent. Season generously with Herbamare or sea salt.
4. Add the carrots, bell pepper, potato, celery, and diced tomatoes with their juices, the remaining 5 cups broth, the cashew cream, and 1-1.5 tablespoons of 10-spice blend. Stir well to combine . Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium-low. Season with salt and black pepper and add the bay leaves.
5. Simmer the soup, uncovered, for at least 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender. Season with salt and black pepper. During the last 5 minutes of cooking, stir in the spinach/kale and drained beans.
6. To freeze, ladle the soup into containers (leaving 1-inch for expansion), cool slightly, secure lid and place in the freezer for up to 6 weeks.

Tips: 1) If you don’t wish to make the 10-Spice Blend, feel free to use your favorite store-bought Cajun or Creole seasoning mix and add to taste. 2) You will have leftover spice blend. Store it in a container and keep it handy anytime you want to spice up a dish! It’s great for pasta, soup, tofu seasoning, stir-fry, and more. 3) When thawed, this soup’s broth looks a bit grainy, but rest assured when it’s heated up again it will return to its former smoothness.

Read more: http://ohsheglows.com/2014/10/02/10-spice-vegetable-soup-freezer-friendly-vegan-gluten-free/#ixzz3NRKMXJbl

A moment occurs to me on this October morning as the screen door opens and my husband walks out & starts his car off to off to work.  Off to build things, communicate, transport, create, and accomplish solid stuff, tangible ideas.   I stand in the kitchen with a breeze blowing the chimes outside & Arlo sits gently on my hip as I stir oatmeal.   Another day.  So grateful.  Sometimes overwhelmed.  Deep breath.

Being a mom that stays at home puts me in a job position that I had no clue how to do a year ago, and frankly, I still wouldn’t call myself seasoned at. Before I had a kid I said I didn’t want to be a stay at home mom.  Then I had a kid.  I still don’t necessarily want to be labeled that but really, who the hell likes to be labeled?  Were all making it up as we go and this train is chugging along, destination unknown always.

the munchers, so small

When people ask what I am doing right now I get so confused coming up with an answer.  What am I doing, what can I show for it, how do I see myself working my way up in this position?  Well, I don’t have a concise explanation for these people.  Relating being a mom to anything else previous to it is virtually impossible so I am left without explanation.  I, too, am making it up as I go my friends.  As this question becomes so stale to me and I begin to see the light more I find pride in answering their tedious questions with a sense of confidence.  What I am doing is amazing, and it has taken me months, but I have actually gotten a heck of a lot better at it.  It feels good to be able to say that.

This is a controversial topic and I am in no place to judge how anyone else chooses to do it.  The one thing I have learned about being a parent is that I really am not one to give advice, nor is anyone.  Every person’s situation is unique and the best way to thrive at it is to go into it with nothing and put your hands up as the roller coaster plummets you to the depths and rises you to the highest in the sky you have ever been. .  There are no maps, no definite way, no right answers.  Sorry all you planners & know it alls, your gonna have to just let it go, your in for a ride.

Baby food preperation

Where all the morning snuggles happen

the domestic goddess has a home

Staying at home did not come naturally to me at first.  I wondered what the hell to do with him all day, how do I write emails, how do I be progressive/productive/creative & independent?  Cleanliness? Time management? Sanity?  Holy moly, I was confused.  You mean raising a child really takes up a majority of your time?  I was naive, that is obvious.  Did I think a baby was an accessory before?  Then came my brain ticking away, thinking too much (like usual) as I convinced myself to feel guilty when I saw other moms going back to work with young babies.  “They can do it all!”, I thought, “they have it all figured out”.  Then the weeks turned into months and I saw those same moms struggling to breast feed, frantic, unable to really slow down and connect.  Then I looked at myself in the mirror again and realized that I actually had gotten the hang of this and was really, honestly, truly starting to fall in love with being able to have my time at home with Arlo.  Kicking it with this little dreamboat in the very first section of his mysterious life is the biggest gift life has ever given me.   Him and those pool of blue eyes that he possesses became my new found best bud and our days became beautifully normal and full.

those rare moments where we really stop to enjoy a sleeping baby instead of rushing trying to get it all done

The sense of responsibility I feel for him is immeasurable.  My love for him is expansive while he grows up right before me.  His mind triggers new thoughts everyday and his body moves in ways to show off all of his newfound discoveries.   Why on earth would I pass him off to someone else to do the job that I set out to do?   I know some woman have very important jobs and they feel a large debt to society to get out there and continue those jobs so they put their babes in daycare.   I get it.  I understand.  There is big mountains to conquer out there in this world.  I do seek to conquer them too.   I don’t see myself staying at home with him for the haul.  I find myself already planning my way out, visualizing my dream job & how I can find a way to join the masses of normal modern day millenials out there scraping to get by, doing the hustle.  Ugh. Why?  Conditioning?  There is some of that but I think it is mostly because I really want to be both.  Becoming a mom allows you to change forever.  A mother will always, from now on, be my number one title in life.  Something else will fill the gaps and urges in due time.  The ideas are growing in me as we speak, but I can’t let them cloud this time because this time is only once.

In reality, between house chores, bills, the side business, the mental support, the playing with babe, taking babe out into the world, the garden, the herbal health, the laundry, the art projects, breastfeeding, baby food making, the endless organization, the cooking and errands I am not sure how to find a moment to even write this.  Yet, this girl is on fire and I fill up a day without any real complaint of boredom.  There may be other emotions through the day, many of them, but boredom usually doesn’t happen when your a mom.

laundry, its forever

foraging for baby

Everyday my husband carries a smiling hungry baby in his pajamas, and most of those mornings that first glimpse sets the tone to get after our day together.  His one dimple melts me and we snuggle under the covers as all good families should.  It is some of those days that I feel totally aligned in my life that I am in, the days I feel committed that are days that feel like pure magic.  I would assume this is true for everyone.  We can carry fears into our lives, anxiety about the future, should do’s, regrets.  Those are all things that take us out of the present and ultimately degrade us.  The days that I just know I am in the right place for now, that everything shifts with time, when I trust the domestic bliss, when I enjoy the light coming through the window, the simple things, the real things, the giggles, the cries, the dances we have in the living room…..these are the days when I am just a mom and know that is the best thing I can do ever, right now.  100%.

This is all I have in the end.  Just one day on top of the other with Mr. one dimple and all the uncertainity that is laid out in front of us.  May the moments just be so and may we always find a steady flow.