Lazy W Marie

Carpeing all the diems in semi-rural Oklahoma...xoxo

pumpkin-coconut soup, simplified

Ahhh soup weather. Oklahoma is finally enjoying a comfortable dip in both temperatures and humidity, so our windows are open and our menu is featuring soup here and there.

Last weekend our dear friends Mickey and Kellie joined us for a casual dinner of old-fashioned chicken and dumplings and newly developed pumpkin-coconut soup. (Food choices is a great idea around here, with a carnivore and a vegetable nut living under one roof.) Kellie brought the most glorious Autumn Harvest salad (pecans, goat cheese, and mustard vinaigrette!) and two substantial loaves of pumpkin bread. Just delicious. We did not purposefully coordinate our pumpkin theme, it just happened naturally. And it’s not the first time, either, ha!

Hashtag Themed Dinners.

Hashtag Menu-Forward.

Okay.

The boys feasted on chicken and dumplings. That pumpkin-coconut soup is one of my personal favorites, and Kellie liked it too. I was so happy. Since that experimental time a few Decembers ago, I have fooled around with the recipe a bit, simplified it actually, and today I’m sharing it all over again for a few people who asked about it on Instagram.

I ate these high-protein, vitamin-packed leftovers for a late lunch on Sunday,
following that delicious pie-sampling event at Savory Spice in OKC.
(I owe you that story too!) I felt totally reset after this lunch.
Supremely nourished, very comfortable. xoxo

Pumpkin-Coconut Soup is one of those “use what you have and then add things as the mood strikes you” type of recipes. Have fun!!

Here are the basics, I have typed in bold the ingredients that seem to set this soup apart:

  • olive oil and basic spices for sauteeing veggies of choice
  • spices like sea salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, ginger, cumin, curry powder, garlic, turmeric.
  • finely diced “trinity” type veggies like carrots, celery, garlic, etc (you might use onion)
  • 1 can pumpkin puree (15 ounces)
  • 1-2 cans crushed tomatoes (15 ounces)
  • 1/3 cup of full-fat coconut milk (maybe more)
  • chicken broth to the thinness of soup you like
  • shredded cooked chicken (I like breast meat, you do YOU)
  • seeds and fresh herbs for topping (we used sweet basil and roasted sunflower kernels this time, the only limit is your imagination!)

Easy, Intuitive Method, as all the best soups are made:

  • Probably your chicken is already cooked and ready to reheat and add to the soup, right? Ok. Have it coming to room temperature while you begin. 
  • Chop and sautee you trinity veggies, seasoning liberally as you go. Allow so much more time than you think, so the base can get nice and soft and mushy and flavorful. Low and slow. Simmery and sultry. Listen to either a TED talk or French music, to encourage the process.
  • Add the crushed tomatoes, pumpkin puree, and some of the coconut milk, stirring affectionately until it is all incorporated and simmering nicely again.
  • Eventually start adding chicken broth to achieve the thinness you like your soup that day, knowing it will reduce and thicken the longer it cooks. This time I added a full “box” of broth instead of just two cups, and I liked it a lot more.
  • Add the cooked chicken. Small, tender pieces are best.
  • Taste and see that the soup is good.
  • Give thanks for things like curry and fresh herbs that you suddenly remember having. 
  • Consider texting your husband to see if he can pick up some roasted pepitas on the way home from the City then decide against that because it’s not worth defending your use of the word “pepitas” over just “pumpkin seeds,” and anyway are TED talks even still a thing, babe? Decide with confidence that sunflower kernels will do great.

The soup is now complete and ready to slurp decadently. Maybe drizzle more coconut milk on top, then garnish in every fancy way you crave. Just know that you will want to lick the bowl clean. It’s warm and filling and the vitamins explode into your bloodstream in the most magnificent, joyful, life-affirming way. I like it served hot alongside a cold, crunchy salad and warm sourdough bread, but who wouldn’t?

I am pretty basic in that way, ha. 

Okay, happy soup weather to you! I hope you try this and find your own twists and ways to make it perfect for you and your people. Please send me the details you discover. Soup will be on the Lazy W menu again soon, and I love all kinds of variations.

And what TED talks are you watching lately? 

“Just as food eaten without appetite is a tedious nourishment,
so does study without zeal damage the memory
by not assimilating what it absorbs.”
~Leonardo da Vinci
XOXOXO

 

a few things for friday

Happy Friday!! I have a few gorgeous things to offer you today.

First, please try this recipe by Brittany at Eating Bird Food. She calls hers, “Mediterranean Diet Pesto Pasta Salad,” and it looks divine. The photo below is of my own finished product, which had lots of adaptations based on what I already had in my kitchen.

MAN you guys. So good and simple, so satisfying, so GREEN and decadent too. I used raw kale instead of arugula, almonds instead of walnuts, and frozen shelled edamame instead of peas, based on an idea my daughter gave me. (Just boil frozen veg in with dry pasta, genius! Why have I never done this?)

Basics:

  • whole wheat pasta
  • frozen peas, edamame, etc
  • fresh cherry tomatoes if you have some
  • lots of great olive oil, salt and pepper, also garlic
  • equal handsful of fresh basil and leafy green of choice (I went heavy with kale)
  • a good scoop of raw nuts for the pesto
  • lots of lemon juice
  • more leafy greens

I ate half of this warm and the rest once it had chilled. Both iterations are great. I will be making this again, all summer, with whatever extras I have on hand. Anything less would be a sad waste of basil season, as basil is the King of Herbs. Amen.

A note about making pesto in your blender: If you want to go easy on the grinding and pulsing and keep some texture in your leafy greens and raw nuts, do that. It is a good life decision, especially if the pesto is meant as a salad dressing. And if you’re shy with lemon juice, are you really living your life fully?

Okay, this might be an excellent take-along to a cookout if you’re gathering for Father’s Day this weekend!

Our festivities started today, with Handsome escaping the Commish just in time to make our 1:00 lunch date at Texas de Brazil in OKC. So luxurious for special occasions! This time we celebrated not only his early Father’s Day but also the culmination of a long-term project at work, a huge success and relief (soon a relief, at least). I am always proud of him; but lately, my seams are bursting. He is in a state of sleepy protein bliss as I type this.

Tomorrow we have a few fun things from which to choose (hopefully a long run for me early in the morning because my run today had to end at 9 miles), then on Sunday all of my family are descending on my parents for a rowdy and loving cookout. Even my little brother and his east coast bunch are here! They flew in for his 20th high school reunion. 

I predict so much good-hearted teasing, excellent grilled meats, and a few too many desserts. Our family is blessed with stellar men, each deserving of all the love and attention we can muster for Father’s Day. And food, obviously. They deserve a great meal.

I still want to tell you so much about The Book of Joy. Why don’t you go ahead and read it, and we will soon have a small online book club discussion about it? Okay? Ok. That will be awesome. 

How do we embrace the reality of our lives, deny nothing, but transcend the pain and suffering that is inescapable? And even when our lives are good, how do we live in joy when so many others are suffering? ~Douglas Abrams

Finally, friends, please take a few minutes to read Dee’s blog entry titled, “Why Do Gardens Matter?” Ahh Dee. I love you so much. My gardens feed me, certainly. In every possible way. Mind, body, and soul. Yes.

Her name is Corian-DEER. Please note the cilantro gone to seed, ok.

Thanks for clicking over and reading along, friends! I hope your weekend is off to much beauty, deep refreshment, and a tall stack of happy memories in the works.

“You become a person through other persons.”
~African teaching
XOXOXOXO

P.S. I am back to preparing a monthly “Bliss List” because it matters. I hope you curate some version of it, too.

 

 

 

friday 5 at the farm: yoga mantras by adriene

Hey friends, happy Friday AGAIN. And happy first Friday of a brand new month. And Happy Groundhog Day! According to tradition, we are supposed to expect six more weeks of cold weather. However. If you’re curious about what the Almanac has to say, read this. Our long-range forecast sounds ok.

Either way, it doesn’t matter. Time flies so quickly that all we really have to focus on is making the most of Every. Single. Day. If we fill them with enough Love and good things, six weeks can pass as beautifully as two.

Carpe the Diems, warm or cold, rain or shine! Gratitude in every circumstance, right? Count it All Joy as my husband says. 

Okay. Speaking of gratitude, I just wrapped up that luscious month of daily yoga practice with Adriene, having completed her new series called TRUE, and I adored it. She teaches, inspires, and just invites you to promote your own well being in deeper ways.  

For a Friday 5 this week I want to share some of my favorite mantras she offers on repeat.

  1. “Tap into that inner smile.” This is better than faking happiness. It’s a private affirmation, and it can be a wellspring of energy, especially on days when it seems easier to be down. There is always joy available.
  2. “Breathe in sync with your movement.” For me, this has everything to do with mindfulness as I work around the farm. It helps me continue praying while staying connected to the animals or the task at hand. It also helps a lot with running.
  3. “Set your hands with a particular kind of love.” This calms me down when I try to do too many things at once. It reminds me to focus and be deliberate. 
  4. “Find freedom in the form, escape the pose.” Such a friendly, healthy nod toward individualizing any plan, any structure in adult life. This also serves as a reminder to pursue the marrow of any project, the deep meaning and essential benefits, not just the outward appearance of completion.
  5. “Find what feels good.” Probably the line for which she is best known, and with good reason. I dare you to find an aspect of daily life where this doesn’t help.  

Don’t you love these?

Something funny thing this past month was that so often what she offered as a meditation on any given day happened to really line up with that day’s Bible devotional (I’ve been reading Jesus Calling by Sarah Young). The echoes have been soothing. Fortifying.

Sad to think that so many years ago the internet was filled with warnings about how yoga contradicts Christianity.

How unfortunate to miss out on the harmony between body and spirit.

Morning glory vines doing some refreshing twists… xoxo I am excited to see this green again!

Ok!

If you have ever done yoga with Adriene, you probably have your own favorite mantras, so please share them! Did you follow a month of TRUE? Which days resonated with you, or did you discover a new pose or meditation that was magical for your body or spirit?

Have you decided to stick with a daily yoga practice in February and beyond? I have for sure. Everything about it feels sublime. 

Don’t fret over the groundhog. Just get stuff done and be happy.

And do more yoga.

“Let us be full in whatever posture it is we are doing,
Just as we should be full in whatever we do in our lives.”
~B.K.S. Iyengar
XOXOXOXO

 

nieces’ back to school, easy mug cakes, & a luscious rainy tuesday

Yesterday I happily set aside a bunch of Monday routines in order to spend some time with my two beautiful nieces on their last day of summer break.

Kenzie is entering fifth grade, and Chloe is entering sixth, and both attend school in Oklahoma City where they have year-round schedules.

As I was inhaling dramatically to offer them much needed comfort about the sad end of summer and the horrible bummers of being thrust back into early mornings and unoriginal uniforms, they both rocked my world with outbursts about how thrilled, excited, and motivated they are for the new school year.

I was like, wait, what?

Personally? I always loved school. The beginning especially was magical. But in recent years I have noticed so many kids bemoaning it. These girls are legitimately happy. Their burst of enthusiasm really caught me by surprise and made me proud of them.

As soon as I arrived, Chloe sat me down on the couch for what became a 45-minute backpack tour. She pulled out, modeled, and explained every notebook and accessory, every color scheme and organizing tool, all the details of her new gym bag (she gets to have volleyball practice before school, shower at the gym, and “clear her head” before study hall, be still my heart!) plus new shoes that aren’t too new, they’re broken in just perfectly.

Kenzie admitted to having a little more in her new back pack than she needed, but every item had a solid reason for being there. And she was very much infatuated with her chosen colors and patterns, too. The whole display was terribly endearing. Oh, and I got to bring her a belated birthday gift!

She is really into mermaids right now, so we gave her one of those plush tail blankets and I embroidered her a big tote bag to say, “Mermaid in Training.”

After luxuriating in back to school joy and the girls’ plans to make good first impressions, we made lunch. Chloe mixed up a chopped Asian salad for us to share, Kenzie toasted bagels, and I made each of us an omelette. We could have gone out to eat, but the girls surprised me again by saying they’d rather stay home to play cards, eat small foods, and just talk.

“Umm hello, where are the modern, bad attitude, spoiled preteens please?”

As we assembled our little bistro lunch, Chloe explained that volleyball season had just started and that this year it’s lasting longer and is a bigger deal than before. She is trying to take it more seriously, think of herself as an athlete now, and therefore really consider what food she puts in her body.

I KNOW. Obviously I will need to order her a copy of Matt Fitzgerald’s Endurance Diet, right?

Then for fun (because even athletes need to have fun) we made mug cakes. Have you tried this yet? They are as easy as the internet claims, and they are highly customizable and satisfying. I recently made a peanut butter variation at home for Handsome, and it murdered his sweet tooth that night. Mug cakes are a great trick to have up your sleeve if you’re trying to limit but not eliminate desserts.

Here is an easy starting point for a single serving chocolate mug cake. Obviously the sky’s the limit on what you add in before cooking or how you top it afterwards.

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

2 TB unsweetened cocoa

3 TB milk

3 TB vegetable oil (or melted butter)

1/4 tsp vanilla

All you do is coat a good sized coffee mug with nonstick oil spray, mix those 6 basic ingredients in it with a spoon, add what you want (like marshmallows, chopped nuts, a dollop of peanut butter, chocolate chips, broken up candy bars, etc), and microwave for 2 minutes. It comes out piping hot and not very gorgeous, but you can conceal the weird surface with all sorts of pretty, delicious things like cool whip or ice cream. I dare you to try it!

My half-day with the nieces ended with a raucous card game of “Baloney,” which was so fun. My nephew, their beloved big brother who grew up alongside my own two girls, and his girlfriend got home and joined us for that bit of nonsense. What great kids, in every way. I am so thankful for my family.

The rest of Monday was spent back at the farm making a dent in house work, which included a big effort clean the downstairs floors. Over the weekend I had grabbed this spray cleaner to try on our wood floors, and it smells nice and cleaned them okay, but zero gloss. What do you guys use for shining wood floors?

Then Handsome and I had a pretty romantic Monday night, to cap it all off. We have been binge-watching Mad Men and both love it so much. Neither of us got the foot rubs I mentioned in yesterday’s post, haha, but maybe that’s what Tuesday nights are for.

Now, midday Tuesday, I am diving back into projects around the house while the farm soaks up many hours of cool, gentle rain. Unheard of weather for August first in Oklahoma.

This morning I joined two local friends for a 6+ mile run, just as the rain got started, and it was pure heaven. This is one of days that helps you catch your breath and makes you crave deep cleaning, fresh sheets, Spanish guitar, and soup for dinner.

If I get caught up enough on housework, then my big fancy afternoon plan is to mellow the entire house, shower and even wear perfume (ha), then read somewhere quiet and cozy for as long as Klaus will tolerate it. Cross your fingers for me that the rain makes him sleepy. I am in the middle of three really good books right now, and everybody knows that rainy afternoons are best for reading.

Tomorrow afternoon I have two special guests coming to the farm, then in the evening my husband and I will be guests at our friends’ home for dinner. Very excited for all of that, and I will share stories and photos soon!

Happy Tuesday, friends. Keep on carpe-ing those diems!

“There shall be eternal summer
in the grateful heart.”
~Celia Thaxter
XOXOXOXO

 

 

greek relish (quick cheap & easy)

Do you ever crave something that’s cold and salty, tangy and juicy, something with a bite to it but also some delicateness, maybe a grassy freshness, something that will fill you up but not bring along a thousand calories? And while you could always use more veggies, you have already eaten enough actual salads that day, so how about something different?

Me too. Frequently. And I have a suggestion for you.

I realize this barely counts as a recipe. It’s just an excellent combination of average ingredients, really, and likely not too original. But I stumbled on this edible pleasure last Friday and wanted to share. I also want to document it for myself so that on some hungry, salt-craving, fresh-food needing summer afternoon this “recipe” might pop up and make me happy all over again.

Let’s call it “Greek Relish” or maybe “Grain-Free Tabloueh” or just “Olive Salad,” whatever you fancy.

It’s just green and black olives mixed with tomatoes and cucumber, a couple of flavor helpers (garlic, black pepper, oregano, and fresh parsley), all chopped up and refrigerated for a while. Easy peasy.

I ate mine greedily stuffed inside whole wheat pita bread, and it was perfect. Had it been diced more finely it would have made a really great dipping salsa for those tortilla chips.

I didn’t add any oils or dressings, just drizzled some of the green olives’ juice into the bowl (the black olives were drained).

All you need, just combine and chill:

  • 1 medium can black olives, drained & chopped
  • 1 similar sized jar of green olives, juice retained, chopped
  • 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
  • 1/2 cucumber, chopped
  • half bunch of fresh parsley, chopped
  • oregano, black pepper to taste

This was fast and easy, delicious, satisfying, and inexpensive! Surely you could get a bit fancier and use kalmatta olives, sun-dried tomatoes, maybe feta cheese and grilled chicken breast, etcetera, but I love having pantry staple ideas like this in my back pocket. Craving killers that do not require trips to the grocery store.

I served this at an impromptu bonfire party we hosted last Friday and everyone who tried it loved it. I can’t wait to make this again.

Welcome to warm weather, cold food, easy eating, healthy season!!

Over and out!
XOXOXOXO