I haven’t been feeling all that well lately. I’m not exactly sick, but my energy levels are pretty low. I have been feeling like I’m starting to get a cold for two weeks or so, only it never actually develops into a cold. I have felt like doing little more than lazing around the house–drinking tea and reading–though I do feel better when I get out and do something else. I love fall, but these days it doesn’t seem to love me. I’m finding it really cold for the beginning of October. It might be my imagination, but our spring, summer and fall (so far) have all been colder than usual here in Montreal. Maybe it’s some sort of global-warming-in-reverse.
Due to my lethargic state, C has been cooking our dinner more often than usual. However, a few days ago I made this wonderful soup, and it was just what we both needed: warm, comforting, nutritious, and simple (though soaking and cooking the beans does take awhile). We ate it with cooked millet, my homemade kimchi, some sliced raw veggies and a shredded cabbage salad. I was really impressed with the soup–it is truly greater than the sum of its parts. I got the basic recipe from a little cookbook that I found in a used bookshop a few weeks ago. It’s called Natural Remedies from the Japanese Kitchen by Fukuhara and Takahata. In it the authors talk about some traditional Japanese ingredients that are thought to be healing, and then introduce several simple recipes for each one. I didn’t make the recipe exactly as it was in the book, but made a thicker and heartier version using the same main ingredients.
this is the leftover soup with millet mixed in, for breakfast.
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