I wanted to write some sort of lively post for all of you today but I'm completely lacking in the motivation department lately.
Actually, I have plenty of motivation to do things I don't need to do like peruse the internet's endless supply of temporary wallpaper options and to watch Downton Abbey with Chris. These things I can do all damn day with little to no effort at all.
It's the things that I'm supposed to do that I can't seem to make myself do. Aside from making me an absolutely worthless employee (thank goodness my day job is slow right now), this blog hasn't been updated as often as it should and projects I know I should be working on (and that in the future, I'll be hating myself for procrastinating on) are not getting done.
I feel a bit like I'm out in a snow storm and all of these events, engagements, projects, to-do lists, and obligations are flying around me like snowflakes. On one hand, I'm very thankful that I have all these opportunities. It feels amazing that I've created this mini-career and I'm so blessed to be in this position to have so many good things happening for me. On the other hand, all of this stuff happening at once overwhelms me and my brain wants to make enemies of each of these obligations. It wants to resist them. It wants to run inside and hide until the storm is over.
I'm not complaining at all and I know that soon all of this (what I'm assuming to be) fear of moving forward, accepting more responsibility, and coming to terms with the fact all of this (*waving arms around to indicate that "this" means the blog*) is more than the hobby it started out as, will blow over. Like I said, I'm thankful and excited for all of it. But right now, all I want to do is hide away and eat soup.
Speaking of which, can we talk about the flavor extravaganza that is this soup? We've got the sweet, creaminess from the carrots, the rich, nuttiness from the almond butter, and the sriracha sauce packs a nice, bold heat. A bit of maple syrup and a bunch of spices tie it all together. So sure, it would be basically perfect as-is, but who wants perfect when you can have magnificence by topping the soup with savory, skillet-roasted chickpeas (basically my favorite way to cook this little wonder-bean)?
This carrot soup was actually born from lack of motivation to do anything special with 3 weeks worth of carrots from our CSA (or to cook anything in general that weren't tacos). It got to the point that I needed room to put stuff in my vegetable drawer so I decided to throw them all in a pot and make soup. Since then, I've actually gone out and bought more carrots to make more of this soup. It's that good. It's also great for those times when you don't have the motivation to do things like cook dinner because once it's simmering, you can walk away and do other stuff like put your pajamas on, check on instagram, and cuddle with your dog. Then all you need is an immersion blender and you're all ready to eat soup while you get your Downton Abbey on.
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1 sweet onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 pounds of roughly chopped carrots (you can peel them or you can just scrub them really well)
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ancho chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 2 cups water
- 2/3 cup creamy almond butter
- 3 tablespoons sriracha sauce
- 1-2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- salt and pepper to taste
- skillet-roasted chickpeas (savory chickpeas)
Instructions
- Heat the sesame oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute for a couple minutes or just until the onion becomes slightly translucent. Add the carrots and spices and let cook for about 3 minutes. Add the broth and water, bring to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer. Let simmer for about 20 minutes or until the carrots can easily be pierced with a fork.
- Use an immersion blender and blend the carrots until mostly smooth (alternatively, you can blend it in batches in a blender, but be careful because it's hot)(duh). Add the almond butter, sriracha, syrup, and lime juice and blend until completely smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately topped with chickpeas. Enjoy!
Just a note: the focaccia pictured here is gluten-free and vegan. It's from Rising Hearts Bakery in Culver City and it's amaaaaaazing.
How do you deal with lack of motivation?
Johanna GGG
ooh this looks really good - I love that sort of soup and have a new hand held blender to road test!
Nicole
Yum, this looks amazing! As for how I deal with lack of motivation, I just go with it! There are times when I'm super productive and motivated and then there are times when I'm totally lacking any motivation at all. I just go with it and like to think that they even each other out : )
Amy @ Parsley In My Teeth
You are being too hard on yourself! You've had so much going on with you book launch and book signings. You are doing a great job. We all love your posts, so just keep on plugging away at everything and you'll continue to do fine. Thanks for posting another wonderful recipe with beautiful pics! This is all good!
Wendy @ Plantivores
I got your email yesterday morning and thought of the 2 lbs of carrots I had sitting in the fridge for way too long and knew I had to make this for dinner. And it was absolutely amazing! The flavors melded together just perfectly and the skillet roasted chickpeas were the piece de resistance. Don't leave them out! Thanks for a super easy and delicious soup.
Sanne
That looks lovely and delicious! I will save your recipe - I should absolutely make this :).
Jennifer {Peppers and Peaches}
This looks and sounds amazing! I am about to eat my lunch early as it whet my appetite! I don't have an immersion blender yet as I have no place to store another kitchen appliance...but why not put my Vitamix to more use! Thanks for sharing!
chrysta@noshed
This is the perfect recipe for today! Its cold and rainy here and a good spicy soup sounds amazing. Thanks!
Gemma
I love the long list of ingredients! 🙂
It's the perfect hearty healthy soup for cold days like the ones we are having at almost everywhere in the northern hemisphere! :-p
xoxo
Ramya
We had this soup for dinner last night and it was very flavorful and delicious. I did add bell peppers and some roasted jalapenos in addition to all your ingredients. Thank you for a good recipe.
Keren @ Just One More Spoon
This looks so wonderful. I can totally relate with you in the 'motivation' department. I usually just accept that it's one of those days and have a bowlful of coconut icecream 😀
Linda @ Veganosity
This soup sounds amazing Kristy! I love the idea of putting almond butter, maple syrup, and sriracha in one dish, such exciting flavors! I just so happen to have a giant bag of baby carrots from Costco that need to be eaten pronto. I'm going to make this today. 🙂
Courtney
WOAH. I was intrigued by the list of ingredients (almond butter and sriracha?), and like you, I also had 2 pounds of CSA carrots languishing in the fridge. The flavor of this soup is just incredible! Complex and spicy. Probably one of the best (and most unique) I've ever made. Though I can't believe you thought this was a lack of motivation soup... It definitely took me about two hours to make with all the carrot prep and blending (though I also made the almond butter from scratch so that added to it). Totally worth all the work, though. Thanks for an amazing recipe!
Megan
This soup is amazing! Easy to make and so flavorful! Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Leah
Kicky, flavorful and smooth. I went back for seconds and thirds of this soup, and I decided to make more of the chickpeas, too. (The soup didn't need more; I just wanted more.) Thanks so much for posting this.
Erin
Ohmigod those chickpeas. So, I got creative and added similar spices to them to go with the soup, plus the addition of some smoked salt. Heavenly! Only half made it to the soup. The rest got eaten along the way. As for the soup, well I only had 1/2 cup almond butter on hand, so I thought well... I'll throw a spoonful of peanut butter in to make up the difference. Whoops! Totally took over. It was still good, but tasted like pb soup. Will have to try again with the right amount of almond butter next time. This is a keeper (I'll just check the pantry first next time).