Soup Soup Resolution

Okay, so the title may be a bit of a stretch. I usually pride myself on conjuring up suitably witty, slyly creative titles. God I'm smug. Really, I think the horrible title is evidence of my discomfort with resolutions. I never declare hope for personal change in the new year, mostly because the dieting industry gives me hives and I am quite certain the dieting industry patented New Year's Resolutions. Though, this may be the year I hop the resolution wagon. 2011 is going to be a pulsing year--full of more love and more change and more responsibility and more soup. Honestly, I feel like every morning I brush my teeth with anxiety and rinse with excitement. I feel like I need to follow up with some resolution floss, just to make certain that no unwanted cavities of worry and disappointment rot between my teeth.

Maybe it isn't a resolution or two I am itching for. . maybe it's soup. Soup can be creamy, acidic, spicy, chunky, salty, bland, hearty, silky, sweet. My senior thesis will be creamy, with writing as smooth and flavorful as clam chowder. My sweetie will continue to fill me with more joy than I can possibly find the words to express--certainly, I have a hearty love stewing with complexity and layered gratitude. My graduation will be sweet, like chilled cucumber soup, with a good glugof celebratory champagne for good measure. My future plans, though, are confusing to my mind's palate. Too salty with frustrated tears? Too acidic with biting, puckered expectations? Spicy with curried anticipation and new opportunities?

Yeah. Curried future. It's colorful, spicy, different and lovely. You have to strike a tender balance between the thick, cloying coconut milk and the aromatic, motley crew of colored spices. I, too, have to find a balance between fear and the unknown and excitement and expectation. I think I find balance in this soup, let's hope I can find balance in my future.

Curried Coconut Vegetable Soup

1 cup rice, grain mix, quinoa etc..

1 medium onion, chopped

1 buncha greens (I used chard, I believe), rinsed and ripped into an edible size

A couple of carrots, peeled and chopped into thin medallions

2 ears of corn (if in season), or 1 cup of frozen corn*

A spoonful of minced garlic

1 tablespoon curry paste

3/4 cup vegetable broth

1 can coconut milk

Salt, pepper, cayenne, cumin, any other seasoning you fancy to taste

*I have only made this using fresh corn, never frozen. I liked the sweetness and the slight crunch paired with the spicy broth. I can't guarantee frozen corn won't be too chewy, or reminiscent of the microwaveable yellow side dish next to the brownie in Kid Cuisines.

Cook your grain of choice and set aside to fluff and cool.

Saute the onion in olive oil (or ghee if you are feeling wild) until translucent in your favorite saucepan, burner set to medium. Add the greens, carrots, corn and garlic and saute for just about 30 seconds. Add the curry paste and saute until the veggies are coated and your knees are buckling with the intoxicating smell.

Pour the broth and coconut milk over the veggie mixture and stir to combine. Add seasonings according to your master chef palate. Turn your heat to low, and let simmer until the carrots are tender. When you are plucking carrots out of the pot and chewing away at their velvety texture, stir in your grain of choice and take the pot off the heat.

Serve with cardamom iced coffee to sip and balance the heat of the soup. For dessert? Some Etsy window shopping for your imagined future apartment, finished with a flourish of graduate school essay writing.