Asparagus soup with roasted garlic

Spring!  Asparagus!  Yippee!

INGREDIENTS:

olive oil

1 small or 1/2 large yellow onion ( young spring onion if you have one)

1 lb or so asparagus (I prefer the slightly fatter ones, rather than the pencil-thin)

1 head garlic (tighter the cloves=better)

savory or marjoram (dried=fine)

vegetable broth

sherry (optional)

• preheat oven to 350
• slice off the top little bit of the whole garlic head.  drizzle olive oil over the garlic and wrap in foil. leave a little air in the foil package but fold tightly so steam doesn’t escape. place garlic in oven.  garlic should roast for at least 1/2 hour, if not longer, so be sure to do this first, before you start prepping everything else.
• heat 1-2 TBS olive oil in soup pot
• add chopped onion and saute till soft, do not let get brown
• remove woody bottoms of asparagus, and chop remaining into 1″ pieces.  add to the onions
• salt, and add some summer savory or marjoram (less than 1 tsp.)
• let cook for a few minutes till asparagus get a bit soft.  stir.
• add enough vegetable broth to cover the asparagus.  I used about 1/2 a tetra-pak.  how much you use depends on how thick you like your soup.
• bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer, about 10-15 minutes
• let cool slightly, then carefully put into blender (I prefer a real blender to an immersion blender for this)
• whirl away till smooth and green.
• remove garlic from oven, carefully unwrap.  the cloves should be golden brown.  if not brown, rewrap and return to oven.
• using the back of a kitchen knife, squeeze out the garlic cloves.  they should slide out easily.
• add garlic – all of it! to the blender and give a good whiz.
• add a splash of sherry and whiz another sec
• pour into bowls, and enjoy!

I made this for dinner last night, the 4th time I’ve made asparagus soup this spring.  I’m all about it for some reason.  I have added one peeled potato to the onion/asparagus at the start before, to give added thickness, but I don’t think it really needs it.  Yesterday we went to the farmers’ market and bought some roasted garlic sourdough bread, which was partially the inspiration for using the roasted garlic in the soup.  A piece of that toasted with some earth balance with the soup was delicious!

 

The little prince

I‘ve loved the Little Prince for so many years, it continually speaks to me anew.  my favorite quote:

Here is my secret. It is very simple: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.

Do you need more than that?  it is the essence of all the spiritual teachings, in a little precious nugget.  Close your eyes, live through the heart.  it may be painful at times, living truthfully and truly, in the center of this bubbling stream of life – but it is always worth it.  Always!

One thing I cannot do is lie to you.  I can only always speak the truth.  By making this statement true (there’s that word, there’s that work again) I have found freedom and a path to drop in.  Check the ego, drop the story, look through the heart and see simply what is there.

Yes, trauma, heartbreak, sorrow, all of those things exist, they happen, we experience them.  Look through the heart – feel the emotion, the grief, or the joy… let it pass through the body – sometimes this can take weeks or months to process through – feel it, just as you feel radiant joy, warmth, loving compassion.  The key is to not let the ego-identification happen with the emotion, let the physical, the emotional bodies ride the waves knowing that the blissful peaceful you is still there, quietly receiving in the depth of the heart.

 

Check out Kalikeli yoga from the heart~!

I have added a new page to the blog, about my yoga classes… there are also some fun photos that Aaron took this weekend.

 

Mental cookery

Well it has been a while… so much has been happening!  Most excitingly I’ve finished my yoga teacher training program and am full-speed-ahead teaching!  4 classes per week at UCLA, and a few privates scattered about.  This has been a long journey for me and I am feeling exhilarated and inspired with each class I lead.  I’ve got a lot of first-time beginners, which is helping me to use my voice and language to clearly and succinctly explain the asanas.  I did have one student approach me after class today and tell me that my class was ‘so peaceful’ — wow!

I am also cooking up an idea for a book, that I am very inspired to write.  I don’t want to get into too much detail, but suffice to say it will being together two of my great loves – being a parent, and yoga.  I am forming it conceptually right now, and want to have a solid outline together by Thanksgiving (good to set a deadline, yes?).  So, this blog may evolve a bit as the book becomes more of a reality.

Last weekend I visited San Francisco to look into the California Institute for Integral Studies, for a possible graduate program.  Considering that we have no money, a house that is worth less than we paid for it (but blessedly more than we owe to the bank), tons of friends, community, and family here in L.A., not to mention Aaron’s job, the thought of packing it up and moving to S.F is a daunting one.   One thing I know though, is that CIIS is an amazing school and I could create an incredible interdisciplinary program.  Another thing to think on and to let cook….

It is raining and chilly here in LA, which is glorious after a scorching late summer.  Just right for some warm pea soup, which I think I’ll get going this afternoon so it’ll be all nice and ready when I come home from yoga later tonight.

I am also excited to report that my Star Wars obsessed son, who drew the “Death Star” in preschool last week, is perfectly content to watch the Little Mermaid too.  whew.

 

Popeye’s breakfast

So I have been into the idea of “green” smoothies, which retain the fiber and nutrients of dark leafy greens while being sweet and easy to drink.  After experimenting with several types of greens I’ve found that spinach blends up the smoothest in my non-professional blender.

This is the smoothie I had this morning:

• juice of 2 oranges
• 1 cup frozen mango chunks
• 1/2 – 3/4 cup frozen blueberries
• 1 banana
• 1 cup packed spinach leaves
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon or to taste

blend all ingredients and enjoy.  You won’t taste the spinach but will reap the benefits of this vitamin and antioxidant rich smoothie!  You can also add protein powder etc to your liking.

 

Almond date energy balls (vegan)

Why spend $2 per bar for food that you can make yourself?  Who needs puffed rice and soy lecithin anyway?  Not me.

These are so easy to make, and delicious.  I have a major sweet tooth and being off refined sugar has been a bit of a transition.  Plus I am out long hours these days and am sick of eating overpriced food bars that have weird stuff in them.

RECIPE:

6 fresh medjool dates

1/2 cup raw almonds

2-3 Tbs almond butter (can sub another nut butter if you like.  Raw butter=raw energy ball)

dried unsweetened coconut flakes or sesame seeds (optional)

—

Pit dates and chop fine.  Place in bowl and mash with a fork till smooth.

Grind raw almonds in blender or Magic Bullet (love this thing) till you get almond meal.  You can leave them a bit chunky if you prefer.  Add almond meal to dates and combine well.

Add nut butter, mixing well

roll into balls.  roll balls in coconut or sesame seeds.

Wrap in plastic or wax paper and refrigerate to firm.  Yum!

–

Of course this will work with other additions – chopped dried apricots and walnut pieces, for instance.  Enjoy!

 

What I’m doing here

listening to Aaron sleep and not feeling tired I have been racing through all the things, big and little that are happening right now, and realized that I might as well document them as it’s kinda interesting. At least to me, maybe not to you.

starting from the very basics, I’m in the process of a detox cleanse right now and have been thinking about why this has been the most successful one I’ve done yet. I’ve probably done 6 or 7 over the past 10 years, with big gaps when I was pregnant/breastfeeding (a whopping 3 years total, whoa and only 1 kid to show for it). But this one is really feeling right, so much so that I think I’m going to keep up the dietary aspect of it for the indefinite future.

Here’s what it is:

• 80% raw fruits and veggies
• 50% fresh juices/smoothies with only fruits, veggies and occasional nutmilks
• one cooked meal per day, on average (today I skipped this). This has been mungbeans and basmati rice, or a hearty vegan soup (that is not an oxymoron). I made vegan palak paneer the other night which was nice too.
• no wheat, alcohol, coffee, dairy, eggs, sugar
• detox herbs (I’m using Michael’s Naturopathic Ultimate Cleanse)

This is a pretty big departure for me, but it is really working out well. Not only have I lost some weight, but I feel fabulous, energized, happy… It’s like my body is catching up to where my mind has been.

Which brings me to the next level of why I’m here, I suppose. I’m so excited to finish my yoga teacher training at the end of the month. This has been a long journey for me, starting from when my son was a year and a half old and I took Saul’s teacher training as a way to reconnect with my personal space (see above three years comment). After losing my job in May, I took another big chunk of the training. During the training and since I have felt like there is rocket fuel powering me on my spiritual path. I have been able to revisit and forgive people and parts of my past that have nagged me unconsciously for years. I time traveled and sat with my 18 year old self, crying the tears that flowed so frequently then, and told her/me that it was ok, that she was going to be ok, that she had this strong and happy woman -me- to take care of her and to become. If it wasn’t true it would sound crazy, I know. And now the last bit of training is coming up and I’m doing this cleanse and I think I’m going to keep it up through the training, just to be as clean as possible to absorb the learning as best I can.

I guess this is the beginning, there’s lots more which is why I’m putting it out here in the universe. I used to keep a diary, most every day from age 9 till 21 or 22. Life started taking over and I’ve hardly written introspectively since then. I used to freak out about people reading my diary, and now I’m putting it out here for the whole world to read. Like leaving the front door open so no one will steal your stuff, I guess.

 

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