A confession, a testimony, and some summer recipes

Hello St. Louis Arch

As most of you know by now, S and I are moving back to St. Louis.  Puerto Rico has been a wonderful adventure and I am very sad to leave, but it is time for us to move on.  Now me and my fellow lovely PM&C bloggers will have all moved on from where we originally met.  I have learned a lot about myself through this experience though and I am immensely grateful for all of it.  I have made some amazing friends here and God has taught me a lot.  In fact, He is still teaching me as we speak.

Playa Susia

I confess that I have really been struggling for months with where God wants me to be.  S was deeply unhappy here, and I was very happy, so there was a disconnect in our marriage as well.  I also have a really hard time trusting in God to lead me where I need to go.  As a concept, I totally get it, but when I have to apply this concept to real life situations, my controlling personality takes over, and it ends up totally lost on me.  Especially when it is something I don't really want to do.  I have been praying and praying that God would show me clearly that St. Louis is where He wants me to go next and, as always, He listened.

Playa Combate

A couple of weeks ago, we made the decision to officially make the move back to St. Louis.  I was still fighting that decision, but I knew it was happening so I needed to get okay with it.  As we were trying to figure out details last week, such as how to transfer the car loan from PR to the mainland (which is apparently not possible) and other major roadblocks, the answers just kept coming to us.  It was as if all of the problems just fell away with super simple solutions because of the generosity of Scott's work.  I know now that this was God working in our lives to show me that this is what I need to be doing.  I still really don't want to go back to St. Louis, but God has shown me that that is where He wants me right now.  I know that He has some sort of plan for me there and I am going to do my best to trust in Him.



For now, as we plan our next move, I wanted to leave you all with some sort of a post so that I am not abandoning you entirely.  You've heard my confession and my testimony.  Now all that's left are some summer recipes to get you by.  I don't know if these are actually any good, but in looking them over, they look like they will be.  Anyway, here is a roundup of "29 Meat Free Meals You Can Make Without Your Stove".  I hope you enjoy them.

Cueva Ventana

Please pray for us if you believe in that stuff, and if not, send positive thoughts our way.  Much love to you all.

My Yogi Tea Bag 

Donna AKA Mindful

Curried Calabaza Coconut Soup

Ready to eat. Yummy!

A couple of weeks ago, I did not have much in the way of fresh produce.  The farmer's market just didn't have much that week and I had to get creative.  No worries though, I live in Puerto Rico.  I know how to get creative in the kitchen.  As you may have figured out by now, there are some staple ingredients that I always have in my kitchen and use for almost every meal.  The two main staples being onions and garlic.  I think that these are the best, most universal base for any recipe.  If you start every recipe by sauteing onions and garlic in coconut oil, you will be guaranteed to have a flavorful dish to build on.

Calabaza!

Two other staple ingredients that I use in about half of the things I cook are ginger and turmeric.  Ginger is great for your tummy and turmeric has all kinds of fantastic health benefits as well.  Turmeric is a powerful natural anti inflammatory, so it is sort of like nature's advil without the nasty drug hazards.  Both ginger and turmeric have been shown in various lab studies to have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-tumor effects on a cellular level.  Obviously, these studies used differing amounts of the two foods, but the way I see it, eating ginger and turmeric regularly can't hurt.   

The broth was red from using beets so it turned pink when the coconut milk was added.

One ingredient you can find all year long in sunny Puerto Rico is calabaza.  This is a squash that is similar to a pumpkin.  The varieties grown in PR have a mostly green skin and orange flesh.  Calabaza can be substituted for pumpkin or butternut squash in some recipes, but it is slightly more watery, so some substitutions may need to be made.  This pumpkin is also rich in nutrients like potassium, vitamin A, and vitamin C.  It is a very low calorie food as well.  Depending on what I plan to use calabaza for, I usually choose to leave the skin on for the extra fiber content.  Be aware that this can make your dish look less pretty though.

Simmering away.

Curried Calabaza Coconut Soup        

Ingredients:

1 tbsp coconut oil
1 large onion, diced
1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
3/4 tbsp fresh turmeric, minced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp recaito
3 cups calabaza squash, cut into 1 inch chunks
3 cups vegetable broth (I make my own. Adjust the salt if using store bought broth)
2 cups coconut milk (I make my own. You may need to adjust the broth if using store bought)
2 tsp curry powder
Salt and pepper to taste
Raw pumpkin seeds (optional for protein and garnish)

Directions:

1. Heat coconut oil in a large pot over medium heat.
2. Add onion, ginger, turmeric and saute for a few minutes until the onion is translucent.
3. Add the garlic and recaito and saute for one more minute.  Do not let the garlic burn.
4. Add calabaza, vegetable broth, coconut milk, curry powder, and salt and bring to a boil.
5. Turn heat down and let simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the pumpkin is cooked thoroughly.
6. Immersion blend until mixture is relatively smooth, then serve.  Top with raw pumpkin seeds for protein and garnish if you like.

I hope you enjoy this healthy, vegan treat.  What are some staple ingredients you always use? 

~Donna