The Simplest Soup for Healing

Just dump, simmer, and blend your way to recovery

Hi friends!

How’s everyone holding up these days? I spent the last two weeks of March and the first week of April sick with and then recovering from a tough case of Covid. After a winter of many illnesses, it was the last thing I wanted, but I got through it with lots of soup (more on that later) and I am healing. I saw my energy healer earlier this week (highly recommend!) and at the end of our session she told me the message my higher self wants me to focus on right now is just that—I AM HEALING. I’ve been repeating this to myself since and am finding great comfort and release in leaning back into the reassurance of that phrase. As spring emerges here in Hurley and I’ve been spending hours with my hands in the dirt again I do feel I am healing. Yes, from Covid, but also from whatever winter did to us, from the ongoing pains and frustrations of my autoimmune condition, from the trauma of living through Jack’s addiction and overdose… from, all in all, a handful of really challenging years. But this spring feels even more hopeful than the rest. I feel myself healing into a deeper faith that it’s all going to be OK. My body is feeling stronger. New life and flowers are growing. Soon we’ll have our first anniversary of being married, and we’ve already stopped living through our first anniversaries of Jack’s addiction and relapses and overdose milestones. The amount of growth and change and courage Jack has displayed in getting and staying sober is remarkable. I am in awe of his strength and all he’s overcome in his recovery process, and I am honestly so proud of all the healing we’ve both done (and continue to do), separately and together. (I am healing!)

Now about that soup. While sick with Covid, small bowls of soup and oatmeal were where it was at. This week, while Jack is healing from some dental work, we’re back on soft warm bowls of comfort food again. It’s been off and on cold and drizzly, so it feels right to make soup. I made a very healing-feeling spinach soup the other day from Julius Roberts’ The Farm Table as part of my monthly ladies cookbook club and it reminded me just how much I love a pureed vegetable soup. I always follow the same process for a creamy veg soup—you can check out this video I made (nine years ago?!) to learn how. This week I made a big batch of cozy Indian-spiced butternut squash soup with chickpeas and chicken broth in there for extra protein. I make it with a few key cheats that mean you can pull this one off even when feverish with Covid. It goes like this:

Chop up an onion or a leek and sauté it in a scoop of ghee or oil in a pot. Season with salt and cook until just beginning to brown. Deglaze with a splash of white wine if you have it, or skip that step entirely. Dump in a package of cubed fresh or frozen butternut squash then a package of Maya Kaimal Everyday Chana (I like the Tomato & Onion one for this but honestly any of them are great for making soup with). Pour a carton of chicken stock over the top. You want your squash to be totally submerged in liquid—if it’s not, add water until it is. Sprinkle some salt in, and grate in some fresh ginger if you have it or a pinch of dried ginger if you don’t and add a pinch of Kashmiri chili powder or maybe some curry powder.

Simmer until the squash is tender, then toss the whole mess in a blender and puree until smooth (or use an immersion blender in the pot). Taste, and adjust the seasoning as needed. Using the package of Everyday Chana should give your soup lots of rich flavor and spice, but if it needs more, add a pinch of chili powder or curry powder and blitz it again in the blender. Add more salt if needed (it probably is) and a generous squeeze of lime juice. Serve your soup with a dollop of plain coconut yogurt (I love cocojune!) if you like and maybe a sprinkle of scallions or cilantro if you’re feeling up to chopping herbs. That’s it—freeze any leftovers for next time you need an easy healing dinner, and enjoy!

here’s that spinach soup I was telling you about

Here’s wishing you all lots of healing growth this spring. Don’t forget to keep chicken broth and a package or two of Everyday Chana in your pantry and a package of cubed butternut squash in your freezer so you can make the simplest soup on days when you’re too tired, too congested with spring allergies, or just really need a cozy hug.

xoxo, A