Fiery Antiinflammatory Soup – Winter Soup Series 3

I feel like it’s been ages since I’ve posted something here. And in a sense it has. There’s not all that much left to January so it’s about time I got going with the blogging for 2016! I really enjoy the creative process of it all. From thinking up recipes, playing in the kitchen, taking the photos and doing the writing. And I’m so grateful to all of you who check in here, take the time to read my ramblings and try out my recipes. So thank you 🙂

Though time seems to fly, it always does(!) this is going to be the year I really practice on being more present and living in the here and now. With an emphasis on practice, be cause that’s just what it is. Some days it works better and seem easier, than others, but in the end all we can do is practice. And when we do, practice that is, regardless of what it is you are practicing – meditation, mindfulness, cooking, weightlifting, running, yoga – we all get better, little by little through the dedication to practice.

I think if we are looking to change anything, whether is something about ourselves, add in a daily selfcare ritual to our lives or learning a new skill, the secret to success goes as follows: Acknowledgement (you want something different to what you have / where you are), Awareness (you need to know where you currently are at, what your patterns are and what it is you need to do different in order to change), Trust (put faith in the process, that if you consistently follow through you will, get there, even when it doesn’t feel like you will) and finally Devotion (because what you want to change and become matters more to you than staying the same).

I suppose one can see Devotion and Discipline as almost synonyms, however I don’t know about you but discipline too me feel a lot harsher and more rigid than devotion. So I stick with the former… So from here on in, for this year I’m going to honour my devotion to staying present in my life (and to blog regularly.) These are my intentions for 2016.

What are your intentions for this New Year? If you need some help to get clarity around where you need to focus, feel free to download this practical sheet I’ve created HERE. It’s yours to play around with.

 

“Where attention goes, energy flows and result show”.

 

And what about being more present? Have you ever noticed how how perceptive time can be? Like when you actually slow down, it almost feels like you’ve got more time, because in that moment you have more time to experience everything that’s going on around you as well as what’s going on inside you… Sounds counter intuitive, I know, but let’s try it. The opposite is certainly true when you surf the internet or scroll through Facebook…

 

 

So what about cooking and eating? Excellent times to practice awareness, mindfulness and being present I think. Perhaps easier said that done, but if you are going to make the effort of cooking from scratch, using all the colourful foods you bought you might as well actively engage in the process. It is so much more rewarding that way!

Last week I had the opportunity to play in the kitchen, as well as with my camera. To make it even better one of my lovely friends came over and was my handmodel for the day. So that made it extra fun!

This is a true, yellow, fiery soup to warm you on cold winter days. Even the bright yellow colour brightens my mood, especially as there still seems to be no end in sight to this current Irish wet winter weather… So as “sunny looking” bowl of hearty goodness has to make up for the lack of the sunlight.

This soup is also highly antiinflammatory as it is full of antiinflammatory foods like, onion, garlic, turmeric and ginger. The main star of the soup is the butternut squash which is a type of pumpkin, readily available in most supermarkets these day. This pumpkin is a great source of carbohydrates, fiber, vitamin C and the yellow coloured phyto-nutrient beta carotene.

It is a really wholesome, wholefood soup made from just a couple of basic ingredients + stock. Of you are battling a cold, need some warming up or are looking for some antiinflammatory support then here’s one way to do it! You’ll have this colourful beauty whipped up in no time.

This is the third recipe in the Winter Soup Series, and I have at least one more lined up before the winter is over…

 

 

Fiery Anti inflammatory Soup

 

Serves 4

1 yellow onion, peeled & finely chopped

1 buttenut squash, roasted (whole), deseeded and chopped

2 cloves of garlic, peeled & finely chopped

2 fresh roots of turmeric, chopped or 1 tbsp dried powder

1 inch fresh ginger, peeled & finely chopped

A pinch of dried chilli flakes

Sea Salt & Black pepper, to season

Vegetable stock, about 1 litre – I never really measure out my stock but use enough to cover my veggies and then add more as necessary to thin the soup when blending it

For the toasted seeds as topping:

1/2 cup pumpkin seeds

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

3 tbsp tamari, wheat free soy sauce

Start by heating your oven to 200°C. Place the butternut squash on a oven tray and then leave it to roast in the hot oven for about 30 min or until the skin is lightly burnt and the squash is soft. This is by far the easiest way to deal with butternut squash as it is a complete pain to try to peel or chop it when fresh! You can even roast it the day before if you have the oven on anyway.

Whilst the butternut squash is roasting, prepare the rest of the vegetables. Then gently heat some olive oil in a heavy based saucepan. Once the oil is warm, add in the onion, garlic and ginger and saute until soft. 

Add in the turmeric just before the end and stir through but be careful not to burn it.

When your butternut squash is ready, take it out of the oven and let it cool before you cut in in half and remove the seeds. If you are feeling enthusiastic you can clean and save these for roasting later…

If you are using an organic squash you can leave the skin on, otherwise peel the soft skin off and add the pumpkin flesh to the saucepan. 

Add enough stock to cover the vegetables and bring up to boil. Then reduce to a gentle simmer. Simmer for 15 min. Allow the soup to cool down a little before you blend it smooth. Add more stock as necessary to thin to your preferred consistency.

To make the toasted seeds; 

Heat the oven to 150°C. Or toast the seeds once you are done with the squash. 

Place the seeds on a lined baking tray. Add the tamari and toss until evenly coated. 

Roast in the oven for 15 min, until they look just about dry.  Give them a stir with a spoon every 5 min too. Remove from the oven and allow them to cool down.

Top each bowl of soup with a descent table spoon of toasted seeds and store any leftover ones in a glass jar in your store cupboard. The seeds are also delicious as a little snack on their own or as a salad sprinkle.

What are your favourite yellow foods? Please share below 🙂