When Life, Joy, and Vegetables Intersect
PROMPT: Vegetables bring joy to life
How could I not write a story to this prompt?
There I was, calmly reading my way through Medium stories a few days ago, when something jumped out in my face. I was reading Dr. Preeti Singh’s article — Vegetables Bring Joy to Life.
You’d think that I would have caught the ‘joy’ in her title. But, no, I did not. I think I got too caught up in her picture of the vegetable stand and reading about what she had to say about vegetables that I didn’t notice that key word.
Maybe it was thinking of the cauliflower in today’s soup that’s simmering away in the kitchen as I write. Earlier in the week I read her article about cauliflower, and she mentioned a soup made from cauliflower, carrots, and beans. I had carrots. I had the beans. I only needed to get a cauliflower — which is one of my top three favorite vegetables — and I’d be all set to have the crockpot simmering away.
As I read on, I saw the passage that prompted her story:
The prompt for this week is: Vegetables bring joy to life.
You can write about your likes and dislikes of vegetables. You may write about a particular vegetable. You can write about how you use or grow a vegetable at home. What is your inspiration or how you grow it creatively. Anything you like relating to a vegetable.
JOY!
…bring JOY to life….
JOY is the word that I chose for my Word of the Year this year.
Truthfully, I did not choose ‘joy’. Joy chose me. You can read about how that happened here.
But when I read the prompt above, which incorporated JOY, along with another thing I love in life — vegetables — you know the siren song for this prompt was a strong one.
You can read Dr. Preeti Singh’s article here:
Here is her cauliflower story, which was the inspiration for the soup I’ll be devouring shortly:
While I’m on the subject of soups — and vegetables — I’ll share one of my favorite soup recipes.
This Pumpkin Soup is a great fall soup. We’re into winter now, but it’s still cold enough that a nice soup simmering in the kitchen is pleasant — adding joy to our life, joy with vegetables.
About 20 years ago, I had a small herb and garden store for three years. One fall, we had a month of ‘Make & Take Luncheons.’ I provided a craft project, such as soapmaking or potpourri making, and also served lunch to the students while they were having the class.
This soup was served at one of the classes. It was ready and in a crock pot for a quick first course as we gave instructions on the craft of the day. After that it was served at several open houses and holiday events and was always a popular dish.
Pumpkin Soup
Ingredients: 1 Tablespoon oil 2 Tablespoons minced onion 2 cups canned or fresh pumpkin puree 1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary (or ½ teaspoon dried, crushed) 4 cups tomato juice ½ teaspoon ground ginger 3 teaspoons toasted pumpkin seeds, if desired
Directions: Add oil and onion to a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat; stir and cook until onion is translucent. Add remaining ingredients and cook over low heat for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, allow to cool slightly, and puree in a blender. Return to heat, adding a bit more tomato juice. If the mixture seems too thick, add a little more tomato juice. Reheat without boiling. Garnish with toasted pumpkin seeds if desired.
Thinking of good recipes reminds me of a few stories I’ve enjoyed from my Medium friend, Marta Henriques. She always has a good selection of stories — tales that are inspiring, crafts she’s made, good recipes, encouraging words. Here’s one with a tomato vinaigrette recipe.
And here’s a green smoothie recipe that Marta Henriques posted that I can’t wait to try out. It sounds so good and it’s sooooo good for us too!
These are good recipes– celebrating using healthy and nutritious vegetables. So now I’m going to jump to the ‘JOY’ portion of the phrase and share a few stories where my Medium friends shared about joyful moments in their life.
Thank you Reciprocal for this chance to share a love of vegetables and a desire for JOY through your prompt.
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