Thai Pumpkin-Coconut Soup

A few friends have asked me for my pumpkin soup recipe, so here it is!

 

1 whole pumpkin peeled

2-3 Orange kumara, peeled

Red Thai curry paste

3-4 cloves garlic, crushed

1-2 white onions, finely chopped

1 can coconut cream/milk

4-5 dried Kaffir Lime leaves

A bit of cayenne pepper

handful of fresh coriander, chopped

salt to taste

water (to dilute pumpkin puree if needed)

 

 

Cook pumpkin/kumara in pot of boiling water until mushy. Blend with a hand mixer (drain enough water to prevent the mixer from sending pumpkin flying… I have some stories of how I learned this lesson!) Add enough water — cup by cup — til it’s just a little thicker than you like your soup. Add onions and dried Kaffir lime leaves.

 

In a small bowl, combine about a dinner table spoon of red curry paste, crushed garlic, cayenne pepper, and coriander (you don’t need much cayenne, as the onion, red curry paste, and coriander give it some kick). Mix with a little water, enough to make a paste. Add to pumpkin puree on stove, stir. Add coconut cream; If you use coconut cream, you may not need to add the whole can, maybe half? If you use coconut milk, the whole can might taste better. (Add more water now if it’s still too thick.) Add salt to taste. Ready to eat when you are!

 

 

I think that’s it. This is one of those recipes that you don’t really need to know the measurements, just the ingredients, and you decide how much of what flavors you want to taste in it. I make it slightly different every time. And I would imagine you could do this in a slow cooker, I just haven’t tried yet.

For my SAHMs…

All my Stay-At-Home-Mamas…. this one goes out to you this morning.

It’s 9:43 AM right now. I’ve breastfed, food fed, played with, and laid back down to nap my almost-2 year old (whose been deciding to “sing” us into the mornings lately before even the sun has time to wake up). I’ve swept, bleached, scrubbed and dried our patio floors (after cleaning up the chewed pear my toddler spat everywhere).  I’ve done 2 1/2 loads of laundry, and have changed the bedsheets. I just finished my bagel and a (second) cup of coffee. Ah…. inhale…. exhale…

Most (if not all) of you would say, “Yep. Welcome to Stay-At-Home-Motherhood”. You can identify with me. And most (if not all) of you are probably still in your pajamas like I am. Haha… “Yep! Welcome to Stay-At-Home-Motherhood!” I love it.

As I was feeding Joshua his breakfast, I was in Psalm 25 and Proverbs 28 (in between banana peeling). Psalm 25 just because; Proverbs 28 because it’s the 28th day of the month, and with there being 31 chapters to Proverbs, it’s an easy way to have a scheduled Bible reading plan. Going through the book of Proverbs once a month, 12 times a year? Has to do some good for you! Anyway, I was in Psalm 25 and contemplating the Lord’s faithful interaction in the lives of SAHMs who love and fear Him.

“Who is the man (woman) that fears the LORD?
Him (She) shall He teach in the way He chooses.
He himself (She herself) shall dwell in prosperity,
And his (her) descendants shall inherit the earth.
The secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him,
And He will show them His covenant.
My eyes are ever toward the LORD,
For He shall pluck my feet out of the net.”
Psalm 25:12-15
(with my additions in parenthesis)

“Who is the man (woman) that fears the LORD?
Him (She) shall He teach in the way He chooses.
I think about Isaiah 66:2b… that on this one will the Lord look: one who is contrite and humble, and who trembles at His word. The Lord is looking for a heart that is for Him. Even in the midst of cleaning and cooking and child-rearing, you have the God-given ability to commune with Him in a special way, because He is Immanuel… GOD WITH US. Invite Him into your home, into the works of your hands, into your heart, into your thoughts. Praise Him! He sits enthroned on the praises of His people. He’s a loving God who meets you where you’re at, even if it’s on your hands an knees scrubbing toilets. And not only will He give you peace and joy in His presence, He will equip and strengthen you DEEP in your inner self by His Holy Spirit. He will speak to you, and instruct you in how to do this thing called “life”. For real!

He himself (She herself) shall dwell in prosperity,
And his (her) descendants shall inherit the earth.
Proverbs 31 is awesome. Yes, there are times when you read it and think, “Oh great. This is the standard? I fall way short, and will never meet it.” But then there are other times, when you read it and are inspired and encouraged to follow in these footsteps! I totally believe that those discouraging thoughts are from the pit of hell, and need to be thrown back there. The Lord loves to bring conviction, but it’s His kindness that leads us to repentance. He’s a perfect Dad; He chastises us because He loves us.
I don’t know how I got onto that, but what I was meaning to get to was that not only will the Lord direct and instruct you in life, but He provides the instruction that leads to prosperity* and fruitfulness. A big way you see this fruit is through your husband and child(ren). Your husband’s heart will safely trust you, and if you raise children in the way they should go, they will not stray from it.

(*Prosperity…. not speaking about money, but good return for your labors.)

The secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him,
And He will show them His covenant.
In Psalm 27, King David talks about meeting with God, beholding His beauty and inquiring of Him in His temple. Thankfully, if you are a born-again Christian you are the temple of God. He lives in you, thus giving you free and unlimited access to His presence. This means you can intimately meet with Him whenever and wherever you are. Packing the stroller into the car, doing seemingly countless rounds down the grocery store aisles because you missed something on the list, folding laundry.. really anything. Also, read through Psalm 119; it’s packed with the psalmists’ passions for having the Word of God in the human heart, and you can’t help but make their prayers your own.

My eyes are ever toward the LORD,
For He shall pluck my feet out of the net.”
This is my resolve. Sure,  in the midst of trials and less-than-ideal circumstances, I may not always remember that it’s my resolve, but the Holy Spirit knows me so well, and He is so faithful to remind me of this resolve. My help comes from the Lord. My eyes are ever toward Him, and He loves to do life with me in this way.

I’m massively inspired by Susanna Wesley. Do some research on her, look for books by and on her.. I’m going to, and I’m so excited about what I’ll find! Anyway, I pray that your mama hearts are encouraged by this. Baby’s awake, time for me to practice what I’ve just preached.

xx

Albertsons shop(s), 6/21/2011

These have been my biggest shops yet. And biggest savings! Though, because of the fine print on the coupons, I had to make 3 separate transactions.. I will break the lists up into their own transaction, then do a summary of the three.  Here’s what I got and what I paid and saved:

Transaction #1

1. 2x Gluten-Free Kettle Chips – … 2 for $5.00 sale = $2.50/ea.
2. 3x B/less chicken breasts – $9.83 (most expensive) … B1G2 coupon = $3.28/ea.
3. 3x St. Louis Style Pork Spare Ribs – $30.60 (most expensive) … B1G2 coupon = $10.20/ea.
4. 1x broccoli – … 2 for $3 sale = $1.50
5. 2x Bag of prepared salad greens – $3.99/ea. … BOGO = $1.99/ea.
6. 1x Calabaza squash – $3.9/ea. … on sale = $2.91/ea.

$53.83 subtotal, $53.83 TOTAL.

Transaction #2

1. 1x Coffeemate Coffee creamer – $2.99/ea.
2. 3x B/less chicken breasts – $7.98 (most expensive) … B1G2 coupon = $2.66/ea.
3. 3x St. Louis Style Pork Spare Ribs – $32.44 (most expensive) … B1G2 coupon = $10.81/ea.

$43.41 subtotal, $43.41 TOTAL.

Transaction #3

1. 1x Bagels – $2.89/ea.
2. 3x B/less chicken breasts – $9.18 (most expensive) … B1G2 coupon = $3.06/ea.

$12.07 subtotal, $12.07 TOTAL.

23 items. $109.31 TOTAL.      How’d it work? Read on.

• If I had paid full price for all of this, I would have spent $292.81 TOTAL.
• If I had used only the store’s promotions and sales, I would have spent $287.33 TOTAL.
• Using coupons and the store’s promos + sales, I spent $109.31 TOTAL.

  I had a total savings of $183.50.   That’s 63% cut off the grocery bill!

I had to add the bloopers for this one.. my little guy and his Gma – too cute!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.