Good morning!
I have been all over the place the past few days, however some fall cooking has come of it! On Sunday I had half a can of pumpkin left over and a plan…savory pumpkin scones a la Angela. I made these for a couple of reasons. First off, my grandfather recently lost his brother to a short but painful and difficult battle with cancer. My great-uncle Donald was a fun-loving man and always the life of the party:
This is him with my cousins, Eric and Jackie at my cousin Tim’s wedding two years ago. I am so blessed and grateful that he was there because, along with my childhood memories of him, I have some wonderful ones from my adult life to remember him by.
I wanted to make my Pepere something nice to show him a little love and comfort during a difficult time. I also wanted to make the scones to test out my vegan baking abilities and use up the rest of that pumpkin. New rule: get creative and be resourceful with ingredients in the kitchen!
After following Angela’s recipe to a T, I had these:
Just in case once wasn’t enough 😉
Needless to say, they were enjoyed by everyone!!
Yesterday was another day in the kitchen, but not of the baking-sorts. Yesterday was rainy, cold, and generally miserable outside: perfect day to make soup! I was getting a little stir-crazy under a pile of books and articles to read for grad homework and decided that a little time spent in the kitchen could cure my boredom, and also provide a dinner for the evenings class.
So off I went:
Things got a little messy, but that’s the beauty of having the kitchen and an afternoon to yourself.
Things then started to come together:
Ingredients:
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 large carrot, peeled and sliced
2 celery stalks
1 summer squash
1 zucchini
1/2 container of fresh button mushrooms
1/2 red pepper
1 can chickpeas
1 carton Trader Joe’s Hearty Vegetable Broth
3 cups water (to fill the pot)
3/4 cup organic brown rice
1 teaspoon paprika
2 bay leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions: Prep all ingredients and toss them all in a large soup pot. Add broth and enough water to fill. Bring soup to a rolling boil for a couple minutes. Cover and simmer for 40 minutes to a couple hours (however long you’ve got). The results should look something like this:
This soup was the perfect compliment to my rainy day boredom. It was a great to bring with me to class and fill me up without being too heavy. I brought it to school using my new L.L. Bean thermos:
She’s not the prettiest thermos, but she totally does the job; perfect size for a meal (18 0z, I usually pack about 16 oz which is two cups).
Today is a fairly busy day, already having had one appointment at 9 a.m. and having another one at 11:30 followed by class tonight 4-6:30. To keep me calm and relaxed I had a 20 minute meditation session (that may have turned into a nap) in between the first and second appointment. My headache is now gone and my stress level has gone down. I am trying my best to work through my IBS-related symptoms through meditation and stress-management. I am not sure if I have shared yet on here that I do have IBS and that I have been dealing with it for about 5 years now. As I have learned to live with it, I have discovered ways to control it through diet (no greasy foods, spicy foods, not as many raw foods, no caffeine, and limited amounts of alcohol) but I also know there is a huge component tied to stress. I am using a few different techniques to deal with that but if any of you out there have any suggestions I would love to hear them!
The biggest thing carrying me through this busy day, though, is the thought of curling up on Eric’s couch with him tonight, having a good meal and watching Glee and last nights episode of House (we are such home-bodies)!! I hope you all have a wonderful Tuesday, hopefully I will catch up with you tomorrow!!
lots of love,
Em
Glad you enjoyed the pumpkin scones! 🙂 I need to make more stat.
I also think your soup looks wonderful and so comforting. I am going to go on a soup binge soon…its cold here!