salad with carrot + ginger dressing

I took my own advice and made a lettuce salad with half an avocado, some thinly sliced red onion and plenty of the carrot + ginger dressing from my post last week. It was so good. And I have enough dressing left over to use for a veggie dip tomorrow. Just popped in to brag I guess.

I couldn't get to sleep until around 4am last night. Then woke up at 8:30am. I'm really just barely making it today. Don't you hate those days?

I like you.

detox

I have a small piece of paper hanging in my closet that says, "Just because you can doesn't mean you should." It's one of those things I never seem to learn, something I could always use reminding of. I am, unfortunately, one of those people who thinks moderation is boring. Good food? I will eat it until I'm ill- we know this. Good whiskey? Keep it coming- it's like I've never heard of a hangover (or, maybe worse, an embarrassing drunk text) on the night the drinks are flowing. In short, I am one of those people who could use a detox every now and then.

So that's what I'm doing this week. I am on day five right now, which is a much clearer-headed and positive place to be than the previous days.  This is my first one ever, and I'm using a seven day plan outlined here. Some of the meals are more pleasant than others, but I'm never starving, which is nice. The whole process has taught me a lot about my relationship with food- why I eat when I eat, how certain foods make me feel, etc.

Most of my meals look like the sad picture on the left. However, at least one meal a day has been absolutely delicious. Take my lunch today- a bunch of chopped up vegetables with my new favorite dressing. There's a reason it's in a teacup, it's because I could seriously drink this like a soup I love it so much. Use it as dressing for a lettuce, avocado and red onion salad and you'll be so happy. You can call and thank me later. I'll even let you talk to my liver, since we may actually be friends again after this.

Carrot + Ginger Dressing
1 large carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
1 large shallot, peeled and roughly chopped
2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh ginger
1 tablespoon sweet white miso
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon roasted sesame seed oil
1/4 cup grapeseed oil
2 tablespoons water

Pulse the carrot, shallot and ginger in a blender until finely chopped. Scrape down the sides, add the miso, vinegar and sesame seed oil and whiz together. While the blender is going, slowly drizzle in the grapeseed oil and the water. 

After all that fun my body decided it was payback time, so I spent most of this week sick with some sort of flu- stomach cramps, body aches, a chest rash (?!). Soup was in order. But not just any soup- it had to be Halloween themed. I may be sick, but I still have my holiday dignity. After some searching I found this recipe. It called to me because I only had to buy yogurt and a lemon for it, two things I knew I could carry home without having to take a whimper break. I wish I'd read the comments on Epicurious first. Many of them suggest adding pumpkin to it, which sounds great. So if anyone does that, please let me know how it turns out.

I like this soup because it wasn't too carrot-y; it had a surprising balance of flavors for how little time and work it took. I highly recommend it. Also, I just used bought ground cumin and it tasted great so feel free to skip that step if you want.

Moroccan Carrot Soup 

Bon Appétit  | April 2010 

2 tablespoons butter 

1 cup chopped white onion

1 pound large carrots, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch dice (about 2 2/3 cups)
2 1/2 cups low-salt chicken broth
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 cup plain yogurt, stirred to loosen

 Melt butter in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 2 minutes. Mix in carrots. Add broth; bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until carrots are very tender, about 20 minutes.

Stir cumin seeds in small skillet over medium-high heat until fragrant, 4 to 5 minutes; cool. Finely grind in spice mill.

Remove soup from heat. Puree in batches in blender until smooth. Return to same pan. Whisk in honey, lemon juice, and allspice. Season with salt and pepper.

Ladle soup into bowls. Drizzle yogurt over; sprinkle generously with cumin.

no meal

Just in case you thought it was all birthday cakes and banana smoothies around here, this is generally my lunch and often my dinner as well. I made a vow last night that when I'm rich I will never eat another tortilla. Unless I'm feeling nostalgic for my poor days, in which case punch me in the mouth.