Thai Carrot Soup (Contains Milk)

YUM! And low fat!!! This one is great (thanks Michelle)

Ingredients:

• 1kg carrots sliced (can use sweet potato and or pumkin as part or total replacement for carrots)
• 1.5 cups diced onions
• 2 teaspoons red curry paste
• 2 cloves crushed garlic
• 1 tablespoon of Massel Chicken stock powder
• 1.5 litres of water
• 1 tablespoon Light Soy Sauce
• (can add 1 teaspoon of fish sauce – though we left it out so Bella could eat the soup)
• 1 x 375ml can evaporated light milk
• 1 x teaspoon imitation coconut essence
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Method:

Spray soup pot/saucepan with cooking spray (or a little oil if you don’t have spray) and saute carrots, onions and curry paste for about 3 minutes. Add the other ingredients, EXCEPT milk and coconut essence.

Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 45 mins. Add the milk and coconut essence and bring back to boil. Puree soup and add pepper to taste. Serve.

This is great with crusty bread, or naan.

Clutter

We have decided to relocate to the UK for a couple of years. It’s a combination of Bella’s allergies calming down; opportunity for Pete in the music business; the chance to see Europe and the kids being a great age to relocate. Basically we struggle to find reasons to not go!

I’m feeling very overwhelmed at the moment, so much to organise whilst working full time.  I’ve taken this week off in the hope of making some in roads into getting the house on the market, throwing away 15 years worth of junk. It’s amazing how much useless stuff you can accumulate. Half used candles, clay modeling tools, plastic toys x 100000, notes from courses and the list goes on. Then there’s more useful stuff, the books, photos, videos, music manuscripts, things you that you feel somewhat attached to, but don’t really refer to often or use – but its comforting to know that its there, a sort of proof that you have lived and done something worthwhile with your life.

A book I read recently suggested you keep clutter because it represents possibility to you. The more keep, the more possibilities and the more procrastination. Where to start? What to do first? The clutter becomes the reason you don’t get anything done. You can’t bear to throw it away because you are giving up possibility, but while you are surrounded by vast piles of possibility, you are preventing yourself from focusing on one or two things and achieving your dreams.

I can see some truth in that.

It doesn’t account for my natural disposition for indecisiveness. Even now, the nice but only slightly used candle is in my “not sure what to do with this stuff” pile.

I have some tough decisions… like my stamp collection. It is very extensive and I’ve invested a lot of time and money (though not in the past 10 years or so). So do I keep it for the kids? Sell it? Move it? If I keep it, where do I keep it?

The feeling I hope to achieve, is the one I felt whilst traveling through the Kimberley. The sense of calmness and being present in the moment experienced during the trip I attributed to the wonderful land and open space. I now wonder whether it was the complete lack of ties to anything material. We had our car, clothes and supplies, perhaps a couple of books or mags. I wasn’t distracted by what I should be doing – or the piles of “possibilities”. When I leave for the UK – I will take the basics, and will be leaving behind the physical reminders and daily clutter.

I’m sure the whole process will be very cathartic… now I best stop procrastinating and turn this possibility into reality.