Quinoa Salad with Roasted Beets, Chick Peas and Orange

Fresh, bright quinoa salad with oranges and roasted beets.

February second. We survived January, Darling. Happy Groundhog Day to you. Happy Imbolc. The dwindling of winter is at last within reach- no matter what Punxatawny Phil predicts. Six weeks is doable. After all, there is chocolate. Downton Abbey 2. And soup. And our hope-fueled New Year betterments are still on track (right?). If not, the year is young. Tomorrow is a fresh start. To celebrate, let's throw a party. My contribution? A gluten-free vegan salad that is perfect for parties.

Because throwing a party is a tad more complicated than it used to be.

There are vegans to accommodate. And newly gluten-free friends and neighbors to feed. And let's face it. Everyone is a wee bit bored by those layered taco bean dips and pork sliders. Gooey meat and cheese is so predictable. Pizza dips are so frat house.

Why not go fresh and breezy instead?

Be good to your body.
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Mulligatawny Detox Soup

Need to detox from the holiday? Make some mulligatawny soup.

Did you over indulge? Just a little? Don't worry, Darling. I've got a body and soul soothing cure. Mulligatawny detox soup. It's chock full of antioxidant vegetable goodness with detoxing spices to boot. Cook it on the stove top or in a Crock Pot and let it simmer for the afternoon, filling your kitchen with a comforting aroma that feels like one big hug.

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Cream of Broccoli Soup Recipe with Coconut Milk

An easy, creamy broccoli and potato soup that is vegan and gluten-free.

It's hard to not worry these days, I know. Epic snow storms dumping the white stuff without mercy- again. Students and protesters in Cairo risking life and limb for political change. Anderson Cooper- our lovely Silver Fox-  getting punched in the face by pro-Mubarak thugs. Where will it all lead, I ask you?

It's mighty tough for a sensitive soul prone to worry to cope with all this mishegas. To find a little comfort in this volatile atmosphere. That is why I am sharing another soup recipe. Just in case there is a kindred spirit out there in need of a bowl of creamy veggie comfort. A gluten-free vegan soup worthy of the Chinese New Year. It's the Year of the Rabbit, by the way (or as we like to say in my house, BUNNY!). And bunny's aren't known for punching or, in general, wreaking havoc. Unless you count Peter Rabbit's sneaky excursions into Mr. McGregor's garden or Max's devouring love of chocolate chickens.

The year of the bunny is ostensibly devoted to a milder temperment. To kindness and beauty and yes, comfort.

So it seemed only fitting I cook up a batch of vegan soup today as fresh and non-toxic as could be. Creamy, good-for-you soul food.

And by the way. Punxatawny Phil predicted an early spring today. True or not, it's got to be a welcome glimmer of hope for those shoveling out from under heaps of snow. Right?

Stay warm and safe, everyone. May peace prevail.


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Detox Green Soup Recipe with Broccoli, Spinach and Ginger

Detoxing from your holiday sugar fest? Try this vegan green soup with ginger.

I'm not perfect. Goddess knows. Especially during the long pale days of Winter. When I am a slug. Motivation is tricky to summon. I loll on the couch with my iPad and expend as few calories as possible, doing nothing more than watching House Hunters International as I read through your ever delightful comments. I scoop guacamole with homemade pecan crackers and conjure recipes for detox green soup as I follow tall young Cincinnatians ducking into tiny Italian kitchens the size of my corner sofa, daunted by the lack of plumbing but in love with the sun baked view of a tangled vineyard through open shutters. I mute the unintentionally absurd commercial for Cialis, trying to imagine why any woman over the age of fifty would even want to deal with 24-hour tumescence before I realize I have eaten a giant avocado.

All by myself.

I don't beat myself up. I know the bottom line. I didn't just fall off the turnip truck. I am not naive. Perfection is unattainable. No matter what the ad men tell you. And it's not perfection I seek. Though, in full transparency, I used to nurture an inclination toward seeking perfection in my long ago first marriage, but the wrecking ball named irony hit too hard to ignore. Turns out my first husband preferred someone decidedly not perfect. Someone sporting iridescent teal eye shadow and fond of dancing drunk with married men at Chamber of Commerce Christmas parties. That taught me a thing or two. Or three.

The thing about perfection is that no one cares.

And neither does your soul. In fact, your soul loves to throw a monkey headlong into your perfect plan. You know the monkey I'm talking about. The monkey who misses deadlines and loses car keys and eats an entire bowl of guacamole in one sitting (or laying down, as the case may be). So much for resolutions and diet strategies. Monkey WIN!

But just in case you're serious about cleansing those fat little liver cells and whittling away your holiday pie roll, I did make a detox soup. And yes, it was green. And cruciferously abundant in vegan veggie wonderfulness.

It made us feel happy.

And well fed.

Quite virtuous.

But not perfect.

Because perfection, Darling, is not only unattainable.

Perfection is highly overrated.


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