Cleanse Day 7

For a weekend that was supposed to be without social engagements, it's turned out to be pretty busy. Last night when we got home from my brother's house, we had a message from my best friend's family inviting us to go to Cedar Hill Berry Farm with them to cut a Christmas tree on Sunday (today). This is an event we share with them most years and it generally ends with home-made pizza at their house. So of course we said "yes" although there wasn't going to be any pizza for me.

When I arose this morning, I enjoyed a short yoga and meditation session then planned some food for the day. Breakfast was scrambled tofu with kale, seasoned with mustard seeds, cumin and turmeric. Yum! I was the designated timer for meditation at Shambhala this morning. Before I left home for this, I cooked some split peas in preparation for making Split Pea Soup to have either for lunch or dinner. When I arrived home from meditation, I confirmed plans with my friend, and we were indeed invited back to their place after tree cutting for home made pizza. So, I hastily ate a lunch of hummous, rice crackers, veggies and lemon tahini dip while making the soup. Then packed dinner fixings and we set off for our Christmas tree expedition.

With the tree selected, cut and strapped to our car, we headed to Almonte to our friends' for the evening. My friend was in full cookie production mode (sadly as I got to see them and smell them but not eat them) while her husband was in pizza dough production mode. I knitted (legwarmers for me) while my husband and daughter and my friend's teenagers played with the x-box. While the others snacked on cookies, I snacked on guacamole (I'd brought the fixings) and tortilla chips (which interestingly don't appear to be contra-indicated on the Wild Rose cleanse despite not being exactly "health food"). When dinner was imminent, I warmed up the split pea soup and brown rice. It was great! See the recipe for the soup below.

It was snowing as we drove home this evening. My daughter is delighted! We're supposed to get 5 cm tomorrow. It may finally be starting to look seasonal around here.


Split Pea Soup (from "Quick Vegetarian Pleasures" by Jeanne Lemlin)

Ingredients:

2 cups dried green split peas
10 cups water
2 bay leaves
3 tbsp olive oil (divided)
3 medium onions, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp ground cumin
2 celery ribs, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 tbsp Bragg's liquid aminos* (instead of soy sauce)
ground pepper to taste
salt to taste
2 tbsp unsalted butter (or ghee)

Method:

1. In a large stockpot, combine the split peas, water, bay leaves and 1 tbsp of olive oil. Cover the pot, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a lively simmer. Cook 1 hr, stirring occasionally.

2. Meanwhile, heat the remaining 2 tbsp olive oil in a medium skillet. Add the onions and garlic and saute 10 minutes or until tender. Stir in the cumin and cook, stirring frequently, 2 additional minutes.

3. After the peas have cooked 1 hr, stir in the onion mixture and all of the remaining ingredients except the butter. Cook, uncovered an additional 30-35 minutes, or until the soup has a somewhat smooth consistency and the vegetables are tender. Be aware that the soup will thicken in each serving bowl as it cools so don't let it get too thick. Remove the bay leaves. Just before serving, add the butter.