Yesterday was one of those days. Not a good one. My mind was racing, I could not regain my calm. I was snappy. Ready to fight, unable to breathe with ease. And so I cooked. I cooked to calm myself down because when I am in the kitchen with loud music and cooking to distract me I feel like the order of methodology and measurements and instructions gives me the boundaries I need and the music washes away the thoughts that try to interfere with the boundaries.
Such an intense introduction to a recipe, you probably didn’t need – but the recipe I am going to share will make you glad you sat through it. It’s deeply comforting food and although no one but me is eating soup at this time of the year you can always keep the recipe for when “normal” people eat soup (ie winter)
Tomato and Pumpkin Soup
You need:
1kg Roma tomatoes
400grams butternut
1 leek
1/3 cup olive oil
5 cloves garlic
2 tbs sugar
1 cup stock
salt and pepper
1 tbs ginger
Method:
Place tomatoes, butternut, leek, olive oil, garlic and sugar in a roasting pan
Place everything in a baking tray
Bake in the oven at 180 degrees for 40 minutes
Put it into a pot
Once they are all soft and squishy put the vegetables into a pot and add the ginger and stock. Then blend it all together with salt and pepper.
Pour it into a bowl (or cup) and eat
Ta da
And that’s it – my comforting soup recipe which I made at the same time as I made a zillion other things last night because I was looking for lots of calming.
What do you do when you need to find your calm?
Yum!
If I’m really antsy, I go for a walk…
But the thing that really keeps me calm is writing – I just really enjoy writing – hours fly by when I’m working on one of my books… I’m really looking forward to the time when this becomes my normal day….
I tidy up when I’m stressed – all my clothes get put away, I hang out the washing, I make the bed…all stuff that stops me thinking how upset I am.
Oh I hear you on that feeling & mood. The house is NOW ON THE MARKET (requires caps!) and suddenly has been joined by about another 100 in the same suburb. Cue ANXIETY…I am not allowed to cook (derr, kitchen being kept spic and span) so I calm with painting. In a very well-protected part of this desk where I am writing, I get out my watercolour box of pan colours, wet one brush and paint swirls, stripes and fun patterns and with each brush stroke I feel calmer… *rushes off now to get this happening as sign has just gone up out the front.*
D xx
Thinking of you Denyse and wishing you well. It keeps getting better – trust me
That soup sounds divine, Lana. Is it a sort of vichyssoise and best eaten cold? Either way, I’ll be trying it.
Endless cups of tea are my thing when stressed. Coffee only seems to heighten tension!
I am not a cold soup fan so I prefer it warm or hot xx
I clean. Yesterday I spontaneously cleaned all my kitchen drawers and the fridge.
The soup looks good. I like tomato soup but I tend to get it from a can *winces* x