Posted By AmyD. on January 13, 2010

It feels a little uncomfortable slipping back in here. It’s like coming back to school after a long illness and finding that your space was filled and you have to make a new place for yourself.

Life is constantly moving forward whether you like it or not. The kids have returned to school after winter break. Another round of CT scans and blood work for Ethan were completed and he remains clear and cancer free. Somehow it still seems very strange to mention my child and cancer in the same sentence.

The older kids have a late start this morning which means that school starts nearly two hours later. That means I get to enjoy listening to them watching the Today show and commenting on the different segments. In a vicodin induced fog at some post-surgery point Ethan listed Matt Lauer as one of his heroes on his MySpace page. He doesn’t remember doing and laughs at it, but I noticed the other day that he hadn’t changed it either. I like that about him, it’s one of the million things I like about him.

Kate is reading “The Lovely Bones” it wasn’t on her Christmas list but I bought it anyway because I thought she’d like it. I was right. I find that as a mom I’m right a lot more often than I realize and I kind of like it.

Like my new affinity for pureed soups. Who knew that my kids would stuff down bowl after bowl of split pea soup? Monday night I made a batch of carrot ginger soup with an orange chicken stir-fry. While not the huge hit that split-pea is, it still went over well and there wasn’t much leftover, that’s always a good sign!

Carrot Ginger Soup – Amy’s Version

2 tblspns butter
2 tblspns olive oil
1 jalapeno (anti-spice freaks, it’s okay, it won’t make it too spicy or all that spicy!)
1 lg. yellow onion, chopped
1/4 c. finely chopped ginger root
3 cloves garlic, minced
7 c. chicken stock
1 c. dry white wine
1 1/2 lb. carrots, peeled, cut into 1/2″ pieces
2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
Pinch curry powder
Salt & ground pepper
Chopped green onion to taste

1. Melt butter in large stock pot over medium heat. Add onion, jalapeno, ginger and garlic; saute for 15-20 minutes.

2. Add the stock, wine and carrots. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered over medium heat until the carrots are very tender, about 45 minutes.

3. Puree the soup in a blender or processor (fitted with steel blade). Season with lemon juice, curry powder, salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with green onion. Serve hot or cold.

It went great with the chicken stir fry, this weekend we plan to make it with grilled teriyaki salmon.

Categories: Recipes
Tags: carrot ginger soup, Ethan, kate, Kids, matt lauer, Mom Stuff, pureed soups, Recipes, school, The Lovely Bones, today show