Another Perfect Fall Soup

Here's another soup recipe for your weekend.  This one was found for another "wired shut" mouth and sent to me by a dear friend back in North Carolina.  Thanks MRH!!

curried butternut & apple soup

Serves 8-10 as a first course, 4-6 as a meal

Soup:

1 large or 2 small butternut squash, halved vertically

2 T butter

1 T olive oil

2 medium yellow onions, chopped

2 T curry powder

3 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced

1 quart vegetable or chicken stock, divided

½ cup sour cream or 4 oz goat cheese

kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

Croutons:

1 medium loaf sourdough bread, ends and toughest parts of crust cut off, cut into 1-inch cubes

1/3 cup olive oil

1 ½ t kosher salt

Preheat oven to 400.  Place squash, cut side down, in a shallow baking dish.  Add water to measure about ½ inch deep.  Bake until squash is very soft, 45 minutes to 1 hour.  Cool slightly, then scoop out seeds and discard.  Scoop flesh from skin into a bowl and coarsely mash.  Set aside.  (Note:  this soup can also be made with previously prepared squash, which makes it a great way to use up Thanksgiving leftovers.)

While squash is baking, prepare croutons.  Place bread cubes in gallon ziplock bag (you should have enough so that the bag is about ¾ full).  Drizzle oil over and sprinkle with salt.  Seal bag and shake to coat bread with oil.  Spread bread on a large, rimmed baking sheet.  When squash is removed from oven, place croutons in oven at 400, and bake 10-15 minutes, until golden brown, turning once in the middle of baking.

To make soup, heat a large pot over medium heat.  Melt butter with 1 T olive oil.  Add onions, curry powder, and apples, and sauté until onions are translucent and apples are soft, about 15 minutes.  Add mashed squash; stir to combine.  Stir in about 3 cups of stock, bring to a boil, and simmer about 10 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Puree with a hand blender, or in batches in a blender or food processor.  Return to pan over very low heat, and whisk in sour cream.  If soup is too thick, thin with more stock.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Serve soup warm with croutons.

 I, of course, was not able to make the croutons but I loved this soup anyway and had it for my lunch today.  To the curry I added turmeric, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, and cumin.  I also added a stalk of celery and fresh garlic to the onion and apple mixture.  I used 4 cups of veggie broth and had to add more water at the end so I could drink it, but thats just because my teeth are so dang close together.  If you like it thick and you can use your mouth and a spoon the way God intended, follow the recipe.  The hand immersion blender and I have become very close companions this week.  

Smooth Move God

Thursday was a good day. My mouth feels so much better as does the rest of me.  I felt like I could run so I tried.  I went about 5 minutes and it felt pretty good to move my legs.  The only problem is that I cannot breathe through my teeth enough to run to far or fast or uphill.  Thats okay I guess. Maybe I will try again in a couple of days.

After George's nap we had some FaceTime with Grammy.  Thank goodness for technology!! It was so good to see her face!  We then went to the Farmers Market in search of some supper.  I have to be honest, I did not expect to find a thing that would suffice for myself.  I hoped I would find a fresh juice at least.  While George was in line for his rotisserie chicken and potatoes - does anything smell quite as good as Rotisserie chicken and onion and potatoes?- I sauntered over to the Gastrobus where I usually find someone absolutely wonderful to eat.  I only went to check out the menu and drool.  Well, wouldn't you know it, they had a soup and a smoothie tonight.  Literally the menu is about 10 items at the very most, so to have soup and a smoothie was something!  I asked if the soup was pureed and the girl said sadly it was not.  But the smoothie I could eat, so I got it.  Banana, kale and dates!! What a combo.  It was really good but a little chunky and seed ridden (This reminds me of something that happened yesterday to me: if any one ever has their mouth wired shut here's a word to the wise -Chia seeds expand.  Do I need to explain? Just don't do it.)
So once again, the Lord showed he cares for me by the way he placed a unique and fun smoothie on the menu just for me. Thanks God!

So we had fun and then went home.  Although the smoothie was good, I was still hungry so ate two more mugs of the soup I made most recently.  Butternut Squash and apple!   Try it, its wonderful!!

Friday morning George woke me up and said, "I'm leaving, but little George is eating breakfast- just wanted you to know".  So I took about 5 minutes to get out of bed and then walked into the kitchen to find George perched in our recliner with his Halloween basket.  He had retrieved it himself.  It's like 6:30 in the morning y'all.  Too funny.  I said, "What on earth are you doing?"  He replied, "I ate my lunch, so I'm getting a treat".  Duh Mommy...  Since I was not awake enough to protest, he proceeded to eat his treat while I poured my first cup of coffee. I looked over and there was his plate, empty except for the crust of his egg sandwich,  exactly where I tell him to put it on the side of the sink.  He's a good boy and a crunch bar at 6:30 am never hurt ANYBODY.

The first week of an injury like mine is definitely the worst.  The second week is hard for different reasons but nowhere near as bad as that first week.  Here's hoping that the third and fourth weeks fly by!

Divine Nature, Eternal Power

The conversation I overheard yesterday at the Natural History Museum did not mean very much at the time.  Later, as I read in the first chapter of Romans, verses 18-20, it began to fit into what the Lord wanted to teach me today.

18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

As we approached an exhibit that explained evolution of man and the similarities and differences between man and ape, I heard a women as she spoke to a young boy.  Later it became evident this was not her son, maybe she was an Aunt or a good friend or a Nanny possibly.  As the boy studied the exhibit, she said to him- and this is paraphrased just to give you the gist- "Now, this is explaining that humans came from monkeys.  Its not what I believe happened. I think that humans were created separate from all other animals.  This is the kind of thing your mom would not want me talking about with you so its just my opinion but there is absolutely NO evidence that this is so.  All of this is propaganda...."On and on she went. The poor boy could not have been more than 8 years old.  I have been interested in the field of science since I was in kindergarten. I learned about Darwin and evolution in the tenth grade and I can remember the front of the text book as it depicted "ape becomes man" exactly.  It was a hard time in my life because my faith had already become very important to me so it caused me to ponder deeply about this evolution vs. creationism debate.  I will be the first to say that none of us knows with absolute certainty how we, the human race, found ourselves here, on earth.  We simply were not present, however to say that there is absolutely no evidence... Okay, before I get bogged down in an evolution vs. creationism debate this is not a post on evolution. The point is, none of us really knows.  What we do know and what is important is found in verses 19 and 20 of the first chapter of Romans- "Since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them for  since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities- his eternal power and divine nature- have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse"(emphasis mine). 

Through God's creation- from the gigantic dinosaur bones, to the black bear, the brown bear, the grizzly bear, the polar bear, the walrus, the elephant seal that each amazes us with their size, to the smallest most delicate of insects, to the opossum, yes even to the opossum that I joked about yesterday- through all these created things he has revealed to us (made plain to us) everything that we need to know about him.  His invisible qualities - eternal power and divine nature are seen clearly through what has been made (i.e. his creation).

His eternal power makes me think of the time lapse between dinosaurs and humans.  Possibly millions of years in between, like 65 million maybe? Is that what I read?  Seems eternal to me.  And to breathe life into just one of those enormous animals - thats power.  And to wipe them all out completely- again, powerful.  

His divine nature is proven by the fact that humans have not yet figured out how to bring a single animal into existence and God put every single thing that we saw in that museum yesterday into being.  Hundreds of thousands of species He put here.  Us- not one species.  He is divine.  His nature is divine.

These two qualities of God can be seen through what he has made so therefore we are without excuse (so the bible says).  So are you sitting over there thinking (like I was), "Oh yeah, totally, I believe God made all those things and I totally respect that so.... I'm good to go, right?"? Hold up, wait, go back to verse 18.  That one makes it a little more complicated.  Am I wicked? Do I suppress the truth? I sure hope I am not godless....

Here's where it gets tricky but also where we can challenge ourselves.  Since we believe in God as creator and king of the universe, we are held to a higher standard, we hold more responsibility to avoid wickedness and godlessness, to avoid the suppression of the truth.  In fact, it is our purpose to do quite the opposite- to spread the truth, to strive for righteousness, and to make our God a part of everything we do and say (God-fullness if you will).  But how do we go about this? I do not have all the answers but I do have one answer.  It may not be complete or the best way but its a start. Each decision we make in our daily lives either stifles the truth or begins to set it free.  Each story you tell, each phone call you make, every text you send tells the other person more about who you are and if you are a believer in Christ, it tells a little about the God you serve.  This is a huge responsibility- about as huge as a T. Rex skeleton and as complicated as a whale's digestive system.  So my advice and prayer for myself is as follows:

Lord, he me- help us, not to persist in sin.  Help us instead to turn from it with all our measly might and may all your eternal power help us.  Help us in each and every decision we make so that we move closer and closer to your righteousness and so that we do not stifle the truth.  Help us Lord not to be selfish and not to believe lies that lead to a selfish lifestyle but to instead steer our longings toward the worship and pleasure of your divine nature.

Through your creation you have left us no excuse Lord.  In your mercy help us to open our eyes, ears and hearts.  Fill our mouths with less excuses and more worship and thanksgiving for the things you have revealed to us, the things you have made plain to us about your eternal power and divine nature through your stunning creation.  Amen.  

  

Ohhhh, Possum!

Two things happened Monday night:
1.  I dreamed I ate a teddy graham
2.  I woke up in a panic because I could not seem to open my mouth
This tells me two things:
1.  I have had these wires long enough
2.  I slept really well for the first time in a week

Tuesday was a school day and I dropped George off with no problems, got an oil change and treated myself to a manicure while I waited for the oil to be changed.  I had a coupon for it so it was the perfect opportunity.
We happened to see our friends Jennie and Evie when I picked George up from school. They were headed to the park so we joined them.  All of that may have been too much for me because when we got home, I went right to sleep after I got George down for his nap.  He woke up around 5pm and it was completely dark.  He is so confused by the time change especially because he takes really long naps.  I am pretty sure he has no clue that he has not slept all night and that he thinks it is a brand new day.  Since I was so tired from the long day and big George would not be home for dinner I decided to cheat and sat him in front of a new movie we borrowed from Evie as we ate dinner (or drank it in my case).  We watched Disney's Brave and it was SO good. We snuggled the whole time and it was one of those nights we'll remember forever.  As I put him to bed I started to read a story, which I dread these days as it hurts my mouth.  He said, "Remember mommy- we don't read stories on movie nights".  Alrighty then!  Off to bed with you then.  As I turned off the light he said, "I want Daddy".  This was a Mozart symphony to my ears.  He has been so attached to me his whole little life, which I love in a lot of ways- don't get me wrong. But to hear those words.....man it was so good.  Since I have been out of commission, the Georges have spent a lot of quality time with each other and wow, has it paid off!  I told him I would send Daddy in when he got home.  When Daddy got home guess what he said in a hopeful tone...."Is he (George) still awake?---Good, I wanted to see that little booger".  Another symphony to my ears.  If I had to go through all this so they could have a chance to bond- I would do it again.

Wednesday we went to the Museum of Natural History.  It was the 100th anniversary so the museum was free! I am all over "FREE".  But alas, ten bucks to park.  It turned out to be worth it.  They have just redone the museum and they did a great job.  I did not see it before, but it was very interactive for a history museum.  George loved the Dinosaur BONES.  George will tell you, "They are not dinosaurs, they are dinosaur BONES".  Smart young 'un.  He was so excited that he would bounce from one exhibit to the next. It would have been so much more informative if I had time to read each plaque but hey, I would not even be there if it were not for him so I think I got as much out of it as I could.   And I overheard a conversation that melds very well with some scripture I read this morning too, so you will hear about that in the next post.  While we were there it should be noted that we were lucky enough to witness a live animal's first appearance in public at this museum.  Her name was Avocado and about 20 or so middle school age children waited in great anticipation for her to come out of her cage.  The two museum employees seemed excited to share this experience with us and were surprised at the crowd that had gathered there to see Avocado in all her glory.  Now before I go on, I want to say something for any readers who do not know me very well.  I LOVE animals, I've never owned a fur coat, I think humans have driven several animals into extinction and for that I am horrified and not proud of our human race. On the other hand, I grew up in a family of hunters and fishermen (and women)  so I appreciate nature as it takes its course with some species.  I think that overpopulation of some species is worse than the alternative, especially if we hunt to use the animal for food.  Okay,  now that you know I am not just a mean animal hater, let me tell you about what animal they brought out of that cage....A 'POSSUM Y'ALL!  The first question she asked the crowd was, "Have any of you ever seen an Opossum before?" I wanted to retort, "Is that the same thing as a Possum? and do you mean alive or dead? I've seen plenty of dead ones".  The next was, "What do you know about the Opossum?" All I could think of was how glad I was that my mom was not here right now.  She would have really embarrassed us with her response.  I can hear her now..." PURPOSE??? They have no purpose, they are the dumbest animals on the planet and they serve absolutely no purpose".  I can also see the looks we would get from the "trainers" who adore this opossum, little Avocado.  I had to leave before I said something I would regret.  All in all it was a great time, possum and all.

Natural History Museum Pictures

 He fell into the exhibit right after I took this picture. yes he did. 

'Tis the Season for Soup

I thought of another thing I am thankful for....I am thankful that this accident happened during "soup season" because that is all I can eat.  I cannot imagine how I would feel about the consumption of hot tomato soup in the middle of the summer but it sure does hit the spot on these cool fall nights.  I mentioned my mom made me four types of soup.  I gave her my favorite recipe cards and she made them happen with additions and substitutions of her own.  She made my favorite-favorite Spinach Soup.  She made Brocolli-Cheddar soup (which, honestly I rarely indulge in because its not the healthiest for you).  She made Potato-Leek Soup and Curried Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup.  The only recipe I can give you is the one for Spinach Soup. For the others, she did her "thing" and mixed and matched several recipe cards with her own knowledge of how to put something absolutely scrumptious together.  And they were all absolutely scrumptious.

Becca's Favorite Favorite Spinach Soup
EVOO
2 garlic cloves
1/2 medium onion chopped
1 stalk celery
1 medium potato peeled and cubed
2 cups chicken or veggie broth
2 cups milk
1 - 6oz bag of fresh spinach

Heat EVOO in large saucepan.  Sauté garlic, onion, celery and potato for 5 minutes.
Add chicken broth and milk. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in half the spinach, cover and simmer for 10 more minutes.  Cool slightly, then transfer soup to blender WORKING IN BATCHES. (DO NOT- under any circumstances- think you can put all this soup in one blender. Just trust me on this one unless you want to change the paint color in your kitchen, ceilings etc. to seaweed green).  Or if you are a lucky duck and have a hand immersion blender, use that.  Add remaining spinach and blend until smooth. I always add red pepper flakes at the end - just a little, you can ALWAYS add more but you can never take spice out.  SO SO GOOD!


Today I tried my hand at a soup recipe I've had my eye on since before my jaw was broken and it does not disappoint!  In fact at this moment I have a mug of it's excellency on my nightside table.  If I did not need it pureed, I would have left it chunky but it is packed with flavor so I do not miss the texture quite as much.   The recipe below happens to be from Slimming Eats.  I added some "non-slimming" ingredients to get more fat and calories in.  Either way, its delicious.

Spicy Tomato and Lentil Soup

Author: Slimming Eats

Serves 4

Ingredients

• ¾ cup (175ml) of uncooked red lentils, rinsed
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic crushed
• 1 stick of celery, finely chopped
• 1 leek, finely chopped
• 300g of sweet potato, chopped (like 2 or 3)
• some freshly ginger grated
• 1 tsp of ground cumin
• 1 splash of tabasco sauce
• 2 teaspoons of paprika
• ½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper
• 500g of ripe tomatoes, skinned and chopped finely (or use a tinned chopped) ( I used one HUGE can of whole Romas since I knew I would puree)
• 2 litres of vegetable stock
• 2 tbsp of tomato puree ( I did not use because I put whole can of tomatoes and included juice)
• salt and black pepper to season
• low calorie spray
• fat free natural yoghurt and fresh parsley to serve

Instructions

1. Spray a large saucepan over a medium high heat with low calorie spray. Add the onion, leek, celery and fry until softened.
2. Add the lentils, sweet potato, garlic, ginger, cumin, paprika, cayenne and tomato paste and stir to evenly mix.
3. Add the stock, tomatoes and tabasco sauce. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer for about 40mins until lentils are soft. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. If you prefer a smoother soup, then you can blend it to your liking. I prefer to leave this soup as it is. (I ended up adding water and soy milk to make it thin enough for me to drink)
5. Serve topped with a spoonful of fat free natural yoghurt and some chopped fresh parsley.

I added 5 oz chèvre, soy milk, and extra sweet potatoes.  I deleted some of the spice because whereas I usually enjoy spicy foods, it burns too much with the way the wires have treated my gums, lips and teeth.  I hope you will try this soup. Its amazing.  I used a hand immersion blender that a friend let me borrow (Thanks LC!!). I added the goat cheese and extra water at the end to make it thin enough to drink and it worked great!


Today was my first Post-Op appointment and my first day home alone with George since all this happened.  I asked a friend to watch George while I went to the appointment and she was happy to do it since our kiddos are great friends.  You might remember her from a previous post- her dad is the one with the motorcycle!  The appointment went well and the doctor said most likely these wires will come off November 25th.  Yes, that is three days before Thanksgiving so hopefully I will at least be able to eat some mashed potatoes.  Not sure if I will be able to open wide enough for a Turkey leg by then- we'll see.  He said it will be an outpatient surgery so I will undergo anesthesia and need a ride to and from the office.  So unless any of you want to come take me to the doctor that day George will have to take off another day of work.  I sure hope they don't fire him!! Only joking, I am sure they will understand and we will be able to work it out.  The appointment was quick, easy to find and uneventful- all that I hoped it would be.  George had a wonderful time with his friend and we came home. He did whine and cry for some reason today until I put him in front of the iPad.  I believe I will count on that tool for a successful week alone with him under these circumstances.  Thank goodness for technology.
Now he is asleep and I may not wake him up until George gets home.  I am sure I will get the energy I need because of this promise:

"I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint." (Jer.31:25)

Some pictures

presurgery 

chicken pot pie

my skeletons

George's class

right before trick or treating

right after trick or treating

my juicer!!!

the LOOT

wired shut.  

see, its not as bad looking as you thought, but it feels a heck of a lot worse than it looks, be assured.  What you cannot see are four screws that are hidden by my lips that attach the wires.  Yippee!