A soup for Today- Vegan Curry Red Lentil Soup

A Soup for Today.

Aspen, Colorado January 2013

Today I found out I matched in pediatric residency.  On Friday I find out where exactly I will be.  The anticipation makes me feel like life is on hold.  Jacob and I aren't sleeping much these days as we await what our next 3 years will look like.  This morning as I awaited the news that I officially matched, I felt frozen- I could not do anything or make any decisions.  What better for de-frosting myself than cooking up a new soup?  This recipe is from Cookie and Kate (http://cookieandkate.com) a great cooking blog. It certainly did the trick- though it is a bit more labor intensive than some of my other soups as the dicing can become arduous.



Vegan Curried Red Lentil Soup 

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 piece (about 2 inches) fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped

• 6 garlic cloves, finely chopped (about 2 tablespoons)

• 1 large shallot, finely chopped (1/4 cup)

• 2 large carrots, peeled and finely diced (about 1 cup)

• 1 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 2 teaspoons curry powder ( i used green curry paste)

• 3/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk (reduced fat or regular) *be sure to shake and mix canned milk well*

• 5 cups water

• 1 cup dried red lentils, picked over and rinsed

• 1/3 cup coarsely chopped tart dried cherries (preferably organic unsweetened)

• 3 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro stems, plus 3 tablespoons cilantro leaves for garnish

Instructions:
1) First prep all ingredients as above (chop, dice, peel etc)
2) put oil into pot and heat on medium
3) Add carrots, garlic, ginger, shallot and half of salt and let cook while stirring for 5-10 minutes until shallots transluscent
4) Add curry powder or paste and stir for another minute
5) Add 1/2 cup coconut milk + water, bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to simmer
6) Cook 8-10 min until carrots/lentils are soft
7) set aside 2 cups of soup.  Strain these two cups leaving only solid ingredients in a separate bowl and recombining liquid with the remaining soup.
8) With a hand immersion blender blend the remaining soup in a glass bowl.
9) recombine the soup with that set aside
10) Add most of the cherries, leaving some for garnish, and all of the cilantro stems
11) When ready to serve separate into 4 bowls, garnishing with remaining coconut milk, cilantro leaves and cherries.

This past week I gave the dvar torah at my minyan- this is what I said:

We are midway between purim and pesach.  Between a time of celebration, high energy, and partying to one of cleansing, renewal and lower energy.  Being a purim baby and an admirer of springtime, these few weeks have always been filled with lots to do.  Prepare for my birthday, prepare for pesach, prepare to come out of winter hibernation.  However this time in between the celebration and renewal, there is not really much to be done. 

This week parshat vayak’hel-pekudei can be summed up in three main parts.

1-   Moses assembles the people of Israel and reiterates to them the commandment to observe Shabbat

2-   He conveys gods instructions in making the mishkan; The tabernacle, or portable sanctuary in which the Jews carried the Ark of the Covenant through the desert.

3-   The people of Israel donate the required material (gold, furnishings, garments etc) in abundance so much so that moses has to tell them to stop giving.

Stop giving? How often do we hear that?  I took this to be more of a metaphor to stop doing and reflect on what has already been done.  As young professional urbanities living in one of the most strung out cities in the world- I’m sure we can all use this reminder.  In the age of yoga and meditation the act of being and reflection, instead of doing all of the time, has now begun to catch on.  Numerous studies have proven that mindfulness and meditation lead to better health outcomes, they decrease anxiety, our perception of pain, and our blood pressure readings.  Perhaps Moses was giving us further instructions on life---- just chill out.  Take this time to clear our minds before we clear our closets in two weeks. 

In discussing the positive effects of not doing more I am reminded of a recent article I read about parenting adult children.  The premise of the article was a mother contemplating how best to be a parent now that her children were grown and no longer needed her in the same capacity they once did.  She mentioned several arguments she had with her now adult children when she would give them suggestions for what they should do to solve the problems they presented her.  One day, her son stopped the argument and said mom I know you are trying to help me but the best way you can help me is to just be there for me, and stop trying to do for me.

As a medical student, I spent part of my curriculum learning communication skills.  While the old fashioned paternalistic view of medicine has changed to be more patient centered, so have our communication styles.  It is now faux pa to tell patients what to do, rather it has proven more effective and beneficial to have the patient tell us more while we engage in reflective listening.  Using a technique called motivational interviewing, many in the psychology world may be familiar with, we work together with the patient to motivate them to change.  By doing less, and being more present, providers can now gain more information while building a more cooperative relationship.

It seems fitting to me that this parsha started with the commandment of Shabbat and ended with telling us to stop giving more.  While Shabbat provides an avenue to stop doing and just be, we are reminded of the importance of doing this on a daily basis.  So I challenge you in the days in between purim and pesach- how can you incorporate this mantra of doing less, being more present, and reflecting more?