March 31, 2013

Minestrone | Gratitude

My husband made a big pot of minestrone soup loosely based on a recipe he found on the Forks Over Knives website. He made some substitutions like carrots and turnips instead of fennel and zucchini, kale instead of Swiss chard. He also added wine and herbs, and used GF pasta. We garnished it with whole pumpkin seeds and roasted brussels sprouts. It was satisfying and delicious.

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Gratitude


Sometimes we just need a gentle reminder to appreciate what we have. A member of my women's group shared the video with us, and now I'm sharing it with you. (Thanks, Kathy.) Another member of the group pointed out that "the east Indian woman included in the video is Vandana Shiva, a scientist and champion of sustainable agriculture in India, who opposes Monsanto and others who push genetically modified seeds in India, causing much harm to local farming and farmers."

14 comments:

  1. The Minestrone looks like the perfect transition from winter to spring. And yes, gratitude, always! We have so much to be thankful for...and yet we complain.

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    1. It's sad that complaining seems so much more "natural" to us than gratitude. Gratitude and happiness are much more pleasant.

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  2. [ Smiles ] Your minestrone is captivating!

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    1. Why, thank you! I had a craving for roasted Brussels sprouts and they really hit the spot as part of the soup.

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  3. I think your hubby could have just called that new creation his, he made so many changes to the original. I love how he subbed out fennel...now, why would he do that, I wonder, hmm?

    The gratitude video had me completely transfixed. I love his voice, so relaxing. The video is a beautiful reminder of what we should be thankful for every day. By the end, I was as relaxed as Simon Cowell was watching Susan Boyle's first audition!

    Loved the pendulum balls, too, and SR and I watched all the hilarious videos in your last post. Andrea, you have started my day well, I thank you.

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    1. He made even more changes than noted, but maybe I was too lazy to write out a recipe — we were leaving for Thailand the next day and I was trying to get some posts ready for when I was gone.

      I agree that the gratitude video is mesmerizing, but somehow I have trouble associating it with Simon. :)

      Don't you think our dogs deserve one of those ball throwers? I should have been an engineer.

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  4. Laloofah has left a new comment on your post "Minestrone | Gratitude":

    Wow, Ken was downright artistic with that minestrone recipe! :-) Sounds yummy!

    The first video was a wonderful reminder. I wish it were as easy to always be conscious and mindful and to feel gratitude like that as it is to take things for granted! Good eye that recognized Vandana Shiva (I recognized her right away, but she appeared so briefly I know the heads up helped!) I love her, and think she should win the Nobel Peace Prize. )I just added her web site, Seed Freedom, to my "Good Karma" list on my blog - thanks for the inspiration!)

    I loved that second video! That's the coolest thing! I also found a version of it on YouTube set to music by Philip Glass, which was nifty too. :-)

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    1. Your comment refused to publish so I copied and pasted it. Blogger is confounding sometimes, but I'm grateful I was able to salvage the comment and post it. I'm going to go look up Vandana Shiva's Web site. Thanks for mentioning it.

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    2. That's so odd! A couple of my blog visitors have had weird experiences with their comments, too. I agree, Blogger can be confounding! Thanks for going to the trouble to salvage my comment! :-)

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    3. I suppose human error is a possibility, but it always happens so fast, who can know? Let's just blame blogger. I think we can all agree to that!

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  5. Roasted brussels sprouts and pumpkin seeds are such a good idea for topping minestrone. I find both definitely addictive. I bet a bowl of that with some warm crusty bread would be heavenly.

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    1. My husband wanted the soup and I wanted the Brussels sprouts, so this was a good compromise. It tasted great!

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  6. Brussels sprouts are a positively inspired addition to minestrone soup! For as many times as I've made and eaten it, that one never occurred to me. Oh, how I've been missing out... I actually have some on hand right now, so I think I'll have to start making up for lost time.

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    1. Thanks! Although at first it didn't seem like it would go with the soup, I REALLY wanted the sprouts, so they got added to the menu with good results.

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