On Not Meditating (and Making Soup Instead)

My Friday night ritual is to go to Urban Dharma for my Buddhist sangha and meditation fix.

In reality, this actually happens about 3 out of every 4 Fridays. And each time I go, no matter how much I don’t feel like getting on that bus and making it happen, I am always glad I rallied, and I always walk away with a slice of insight that makes some sort of an impact on me.

The exceptional 4th Friday is the one I really enjoy though. That’s when I blow off Urban Dharma just because I don’t feel like it. Maybe because I had to get up early, and it’s been raining all day, and I’m hungry, and the house is cozy, and hell, I’m not the boss of me.

On those nights, I willfully absolve myself of guilt, decide that I’m probably way too lazy to be a Buddhist anyway, and I stay home.

I stay home, and I cook myself some soup (from scratch, with fresh organic ingredients—is there really anything more soulful than fresh homemade soup?). Maybe I indulge in some contraband ice cream (my home is vegan, but I’m not), and I crawl into bed at about 8 in the pm with my laptop and some really bad internet television.

Last night was such a night. I made the soup of all hearty, comforting winter soups. I can’t take credit for this one. My friend Anna gave me the recipe. I hope she doesn’t mind me sharing it. Just to give her due props, I’m talking about Anna Hughes, yoga teacher extraordinaire, mom to beautiful Juniper, all around lovely person, and gifted cook. Thank you, Anna!

Soulful Winter Squash & Bean Soup

• Sauté a diced onion in some EVOO until soft
• Add a dose of chopped garlic and ginger (you’re going to add more in a bit) and sauté for a few more moments (you have to stir constantly when you’re cooking garlic because it’s fussy and likes to burn)
• Add 8 cups of stock (I use veggie bouillon or sometimes I make stock from scratch)
• Add 1 butternut squash, peeled and diced small (Incidentally, nothing makes you feel present like cutting up a butternut squash. You have to really pay attention or you will lose a finger.)
• Bring to a boil and then lower slightly to simmer and cook for a bit
• Add some more chopped garlic and ginger, 2 cans of black eyed peas, juice from a half a squeezed lemon, a teeny tiny dash of apple cider vinegar, a half teaspoon of a nice warm spice (I use a sweet curry I made, but cinnamon is a nice choice too), fresh ground pepper and perhaps some salt to taste (or, if you have it around, Bragg’s liquid aminos are even better)
• Let it all simmer until the squash is soft
• Stir in a healthy dose of chopped organic spinach
• Once you’ve got it in a bowl, stir in a dollop of white miso paste (This is optional because miso isn’t something everyone has lying around, but if you do have it, it makes any soup better. The trick is to not cook it, so it always gets added after to keep the good stuff in it alive.)
• A pinch of chopped cilantro to garnish (Incidentally, the word “garnish” to me is the same thing as saying “don’t bother, it’s just for decoration”, but in this case, the cilantro makes the flavor.)

If creating and eating this soup does not make you a better person, I don’t know what will!

Thanks Anna!