Quinoa-Veggie Soup + the Sickies

This soup just popped into my head while driving the other day, almost as if in a dream. I must have read a similar recipe somewhere at some point and tucked it away mentally. It turned out to be very tasty; much more delicious than these simple ingredients would suggest. In fact, this is a soup that I'd come back for if it was served in a restaurant. And most restaurant soups don't really impress me. Besides, there's no disputing its nutritional value.

Quinoa-Veggie Soup

In a large pot, heat 2 T canola oil on medium heat, then saute for about 5 min:

• 1 onion, diced
• 1 large carrot, diced

Stir in:

• 2 medium red potatoes, diced (if organic, leave skins on)
• 2 cups shredded kale
• 1 large clove garlic, pressed or minced

Add and bring to a boil:

• 1 can (15 oz) fire-roasted chopped tomatoes with juice (Hunts brand was recently rated #2 after Muir Glen by Cooks Illustrated magazine)
• 10 cups vegetable broth (Better Than Boullion is excellent)

Add and simmer for 15 minutes, covered:

• 1 cup quinoa, rinsed well under running water
• 2 cups frozen corn, organic (unless you prefer your corn genetically modified)

Stir in:

• juice of 1 lime
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Serve with tortilla chips on the side (we love Garden of Eatin' organic blue corn chips).

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So, lately there's been a whole lotta hoopla at our house, including moving, no internet for a week, and personal illness, so I haven't blogged in a couple weeks. The moving chaos was pretty unavoidable, not much to say about that. The no internet for a week, well that's just part of living out here in the land of no broadband/no cellphone coverage, just have to live with things like that. The sickness part, that's been the tough one for me recently. There are some people, and you know exactly who you are, who kind of like being sick. The special attention from family members, visits to doctors, conversations with random strangers about your (and their) illness... it can be very gratifying.

Back when I was studying medical anthropology, I remember learning about how some people take on the identity of "patient" and may be reluctant to give it up, even to the point of psychosomatic illness in order to prolong that identity. Not me. Being sick is something I resent hugely. The time spent feeling lousy and not my usual energetic self, the struggle to keep doing what needs to be done, the missed opportunities for exercise and other fun activities - I hate it all. There is one aspect of being sick, though, that even I can see as compensatory. This is the clarity that sometimes come from stepping back from your usual busy life and engaging in self-reflection. This only happens as long as you don't fill up the void with something else diverting (like we do on vacation).

I've always been interested in liminal spaces - the in-between moments of life, when you're not this, but you're not that either - and the notion that special insights, experiences, and healing can take place there. Think of when people have a near-death experience, or fall into a trance. Afterward, they can't help but be changed. This is one reason why induced trances are so common across cultures and are considered so powerful. For me, lying in bed and on the couch hour after hour, unable to focus on reading or t.v., felt like a liminal space. Not yet dead, but certainly not alive in the way that I am accustomed to being. With nothing else to do, my attention eventually made its way toward my priorities and values, and whether they were well-aligned with my actions. As I considered the gap between my ideal and my reality, I made a resolution or two. Excellent timing, what with it being near the end of Lent and all.

Happily, I'm feeling much better now. Still recovering, but able to cook again with enthusiasm, exercise with caution, and play with the girls to their satisfaction. And I think, a bit healthier in spirit for the experience. Not that I'd have chosen sickness as a route towards self-enlightenment, nor that the path forward is an easy one... but as with everything, I'm grateful for the opportunity.

I'll leave you with this quote from Mahatma Ghandi:

Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.