Curried Pumpkin Soup

Hello friends! Are you all enjoying fall as much as I am? This is my first real one after living in the desert for four years and it is so glorious. In fact, I want to share one of my favorite fall dishes with you today. It's actually a recipe that I got from my mom; she's been making it for a few years. I modified it a bit to add some bacon, because bacon. Now that I'm in a seasonally appropriate climate, it's going to be my traditional Halloween night dish. I wanted to let you all in on it today, though, in case you wanted to join me and make it on the most spooktacular night of the year!

Curried Pumpkin Soup

12 ounces bacon, thinly sliced
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 - 1 teaspoon yellow curry powder
3 cups vegetable broth
1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin
1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Fresh or frozen chives, optional

In a large sauce pan, fry the bacon until it is very crispy, working in batches if needed. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and let drain on paper towels. Remove all but two tablespoons of the bacon fat. Saute the onion and mushrooms in the bacon fat until tender. Stir in the flour and curry powder until blended. Gradually add broth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for two minutes or until thickened.

Add the pumpkin, evaporated milk, honey, salt, pepper, and nutmeg; heat through. Garnish with bacon and chives (if desired) immediately before serving.

Make it work for you

This is totally doable on a work night. The most time-consuming part is slicing up and cooking the bacon, which you could do ahead of time. It's also a great make-ahead recipe. I made this for our Halloween potluck at work last year. I cooked up everything in the first paragraph the night before, then transferred that mixture and the rest of the ingredients to my slow cooker insert. That went inside the fridge until about two hours before lunch. I warmed it up on the low setting and it was all ready for us to enjoy. (Bonus: I got lots of great compliments on it!) This soup also keeps well for leftovers.

Some notes

• Make sure you get plain pumpkin. Do not get pumpkin pie mix. To verify you're buying the right thing, check the ingredients list: it should say pumpkin, and nothing else.
• Use the bacon wisely: top off each individual bowl right before eating. The crispy lardons add some great texture.
• Make this vegetarian by skipping the bacon and sauteing with butter or olive oil instead. Make it vegan by using oil and coconut milk.
• This would be a great light dinner to make for the night before Thanksgiving. Take care of the bacon a few days ahead of time to really cut down on the hands-on time.

Do not be afraid to try this soup! My husband is a pumpkin skeptic and he loves this stuff. I can't wait to enjoy a bowl of curried fall by the spoonful while handing out candy to adorable trick-or-treaters and watching Charlie Brown. :)

Cultivating Self-Compassion: Letting Go of Perfectionism

Well hello there. I'm so glad you could join me for my third post on The Gifts of Imperfection. I have quite a bit to say about this one so I'm going to just dive right in! This chapter is all about letting go of perfectionist tendencies and learning to be kind to yourself. In my initial post I shared that I scored pretty low on the Self-Compassion Scale, which was a bit of a wake-up call for me. I've always known I have a moderate case of perfectionism and could be hard on myself, but I had no idea to what extent or how my internal dialogue compared to other people. I knew I would need to dig deep and really start to sort some stuff out on the ground level with this chapter.

I need to say: Dr. Brown defines the hell out of perfectionism here. I'll do some brief paraphrasing for the purpose of this entry, but if this is something you even suspect is impacting your daily life, probably just read the book. This chapter alone is worth it. Every paragraph hit so close to home for me and really solidified that perfectionism is emotionally and psychologically harmful in ways I wasn't even remotely thinking about. Here is how Dr. Brown explains perfectionism:

 Perfectionism is not healthy growth and trying to be your best self. It is not about attempting self-improvement. It is a false belief that projecting a perfect life will help us "... minimize or avoid the pain of blame, judgment, and shame" (pg 56). It is a "shield" we use to keep people from thinking bad things about us. Perfectionism feeds into the notion that we are what we accomplish, and how perfectly we can accomplish it. This mindset is debilitating if it keeps you from living a full life because you are too afraid of failure (or even just not being "perfect" at something).

Perfectionism is so prevalent in my life that I have been letting my thoughts ferment for over four weeks since I personally journaled on this chapter. Because of what I do for a living, I think I will always have a struggle with perfectionism. It is not hyperbole to state that a patient of mine could die if I make certain mistakes. (Rest assured, there are levels of fail-safes built into our systems, but it is something that we are trained to remember to hold ourselves to the highest performance standards.) I now know that I need to compartmentalize and learn how to keep the occupational striving for a lack of mistakes separate from my ego and the rest of my life. I need to remember that working to keep my patients safe is completely different and removed from the psychological shield of perfectionism. And when I do make what are ultimately minor mistakes, all things considered, I need to remember to be kind to myself and to learn from them. Much... MUCH easier said than done, but more on that in a minute.

At this point, I think it would be most straight forward to tell you how I've been trying to DIG Deep since starting to mentally and emotionally digest all this information:

• Get Deliberate: I took the Self-Compassion Scale. My scores were pretty dreary, yet illuminating; to take a glass-half-full approach, I have lots of room to improve. Here is what I managed to flesh out from my results:
• Self-Kindness - Utilize Dr. Neff's Self-Compassion Break. Be mindful of negative emotions and channel kindness to yourself by speaking to yourself as you would a friend.
• Self-Judgment and Common Humanity - I think the two aspects mostly go hand-in-hand. Recognizing common humanity -- that we all struggle, often with very similar issues -- should make it easier to be less self-judgmental; they should have an inversely-proportional relationship.
• Isolation - Another aspect I think would be alleviated by common humanity: we're all in this together, so don't be afraid to claim and share your struggles.
• Mindfulness - Being present for your life and for your emotions. I know how to do this and why it is so important, I just need to do it more often. I am constantly looking for a distraction lately: food, Facebook, a beer or glass of wine with dinner, Netflix. Again, utilize available guided meditations and self-compassion exercises. Train the brain to hopefully make it habitual eventually.
• Over-identification - This one is less intuitive for me, I had to look it up. It is basically the antithesis of "true" mindfulness. It is the tendency to lock into thoughts and feelings. For example, if I make a mistake at work, I dwell on it for the rest of the day. It can ruin my mood. I "over-identify" with the shame of not being perfect. A much healthier way to handle this situation would be to take a moment to recognize how I feel, then practice self-compassion by being kind to myself and letting self-judgment go (because we all make mistakes). This is a very deliberate manner in which to grow self-compassion.

               I would like to take the Self-Compassion Scale again in six months or a year to see if/how my scores change, in order to gauge if I am practicing better daily habits.

• Get Inspired: I need to take cues from the people in my life who don't get shaken up by a mistake or when something doesn't go as planned. Remember that life is too short to dwell on unattainable perfection. Bend, don't break. Brene says, "... our imperfections are not inadequacies, they are reminders that we're all in this together" (pg 61).
• Get Going: Make self-compassion practices a regular routine. Listen to Dr. Neff's Self-Compassion Break while doing dishes, kneading bread, etc. This one is only five minutes long. I can spare five minutes a day to learn how to be nice to myself.
• I have also started to take "Get Going" literally. This process has given me a new mantra: Don't let perfect be the enemy of good. This mindset was really hard for me to buy into before. Now, I'm putting it into practice with a new exercise routine. I used to do Crossfit, so I am very much aware of what constitutes effective exercise. Once I stopped going to that gym, however, I just stopped exercising, since I know that you need a combination of cardio+weight training to really be in good shape. I was letting perfect be the enemy of good. I decided that some less-effective exercise is much better than no exercise, so I started Couch to 5k a few weeks ago. I'm not going to beat myself up because I'm "just" running and not killing myself at the gym anymore. I have committed to a goal and I am going to feel good about accomplishing it. Perfect is not going to be the enemy of good anymore.

Now, after all that sharing on my end, I'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences. Do you struggle with perfectionism? Are you like me, where you didn't even realize how much you were struggling with it? Have you found ways to be kind to yourself? Have you done Couch to 5k or want to nerd out over running or other exercise?

I just want to say thank you for reading this post. It was a hard one for me to process and put into words, so I appreciate you hanging in there. And if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to discuss!

Cultivating Authenticity: Letting Go of What People Think

Welcome to Journal Entry #2! I have to say, working through some of this stuff via writing has helped already. I just feel a little bit emotionally lighter today, and I totally appreciate that. A family member sent me a private message after I posted my last entry, and brought up the importance of working on yourself through every life stage. I couldn't agree more. Thanks for being a part of this little journey.

Moving right along into some groundwork: This chapter in The Gifts of Imperfection focuses on authenticity, defined as "...the daily practice of letting go of who we think we're supposed to be and embracing who we are" (pg 50). Dr. Brown believes authenticity encompasses the "courage to be imperfect," setting boundaries, allowing ourselves to be vulnerable, and exercising compassion with regard to the daily strengths and struggles we all face. She states that people who live in an authentic manner are able to nurture "...the connection and sense of belonging that can only happen when we believe we are enough."

Dr. Brown discovered through her research that speaking out and representing your authentic self is a big shame trigger for women especially. What she found really resonated with me -- it's something I definitely deal with, and I'm sure many of you do, too. I'm just going to quote it verbatim, because I can't say it any better than she did. The struggle to be authentic was described as:

• "Don't make people feel uncomfortable but be honest.
• Don't upset anyone or hurt anyone's feelings but say what's on your mind.
• Sound informed and educated but not like a know-it-all.
• Don't say anything unpopular or controversial but have the courage to disagree with the crowd" (pg 52).

I mean, being true to yourself ranges from difficult at best to a minefield of impossible contradictions at worst. I for sure struggle with the first two (luckily, in my daily life I am surrounded by awesome nerds so I'd have to try REALLY hard to sound like a know-it-all).

I have to admit, I am having kind of a hard time interpreting this chapter. Perhaps I am reading into things too much, but it seems as though Dr. Brown is encouraging us to speak our minds at almost every given turn in order to be authentic. But that's just not me. As stated above, I really don't like making people feel uncomfortable or hurt their feelings. This Midwesterner happens to think there is a time and place for speaking your mind -- perhaps at work and the Thanksgiving table isn't always it. I'd really be interested in your thoughts on this; it's an area I'd like to flesh out more.

Side note: At the end of the next few chapters, there is a challenge to "DIG Deep," which means:

• Get Deliberate
• Get Inspired
• Get Going

 You are supposed to be able to tailor each aspect to the theme of the chapter. I will share each of mine with you, and I'd love to hear what you come up with for your life in return. Here is how I DIG Deep for authenticity:

• Get Deliberate: I think about what I want to say. But I also err on the side of not saying anything to avoid conflict and offense. Authenticity is probably an area I need to work on. But I genuinely don't like conflict -- isn't avoiding it being true to my authentic self? However, when I do speak up, it is deliberate and I do own up to it.
• Get Inspired: Pay attention to how the people you admire handle discussions, debates, etc., but know when to draw the line for you.
• Get Going: I very much feel in line with what Brene says here at least: "If the goal is authenticity and they don't like me, I'm ok" (pg 54). I truly operate in this manner and have for awhile. So I don't feel the need to speak my mind every 7.5 seconds -- maybe that's ok and authentic for me. It's all a balancing act that I will hopefully figure out over time.

Do you struggle with being authentic, or do you have it figured out? How do you DIG Deep to be true to yourself?

Something Different

Hey All,

Long time no talk! I have to tell you: I have no space on my computer for more photos. I have an awesome recipe for a quinoa skillet I can't wait to share, but I need to figure out my storage issue first. Doh! In the meantime, here is a pictureless post.

Real talk: Buying a house has been a major time- and energy-suck. I finally got back into the kitchen regularly a few weeks ago. I made a kind of spur-of-the-moment decision to start baking sourdough, so I've been enjoying working the kinks out of that. Hopefully I'll be at a point to share my experiences with you all soon.

Another thing about buying a house: It's stressful for Type-A perfectionists such as myself. (Hi, I'm Cass, and I'm high-strung.) I'm very much an all-or-nothing doer; I hate hate hate leaving jobs and projects unfinished. Which you have to do when you are working on an entire house. Such external, overwhelming sources of stress (coupled with a few more personal stressors) leave me closed off and, let's say, rigid, mentally and emotionally. Two months of this has left me flirting with the edges of anxiety and depression. Recognizing the need to start to turn things around, I picked up a copy of Brene Brown's The Gifts of Imperfection. I've been hearing of Dr. Brown for a few years but this is the first of her work I've really delved into. Her major focus of research is shame, and her findings stem from mountains of data from interviews with "wholehearted" people. I don't know if this book and the exercises within will be helpful, or if they will be like so much self-help mumbo-jumbo.

But here's the thing: Shame is definitely something that I find paralyzing in my life and it is something I need to tackle head-on. I figure, what better way to do that than to lay it all out there, completely out in the open? I struggle immensely with opening up and discussing my deep feelings -- this is something I recognize in myself. I already have a platform that anyone in the world can access. Maybe utilizing it will help me tear down some of those walls.

A few minutes ago, I took an assessment that Dr. Brown recommends called The Self-Compassion Scale. I did not do well. I scored a 1.99 out of 5.00. What a wake-up call that something's gotta give. So here's my attempt at breaking some things down: I've been journaling along with the questions and prompts in the book for the past few days. Tonight I will post my first entry, then I will continue with subsequent ones regularly.

Here is what I hope:

• I hope this will give me practice expressing myself and sharing my honest feelings.
• I hope this will give us a platform for honest discussions regarding feelings of perfectionism, shame, self-compassion, etc.
• I hope this won't be seen for what it is not: a cry for attention and empty platitudes.

Before I get to my journal entry, I just want to say that I hope to hear from any of you who may be experiencing something similar in your life. I'd love it if you commented, or if you have thoughts regarding this book or Brene Brown. If you got your own copy and followed along with me, I'd love that most of all.

Thanks so much for listening. Maybe there will even be food posts interspersed once I (finally) get my storage issue resolved. Ok, here is my first journal entry:

Shame Resilience and Story Claiming (8/14/16)

1. Who do you become when you're backed into that shame corner? I become flustered and incredulous that someone dare question me, call me out, disagree with me, etc. I become anxious and physically rigid. My pulse increases, BP rises, breathing becomes very shallow. I don't like myself in that moment. I wish I could just react better and just be a better, smarter, more articulate, well-rounded, whatever, person, perpetuating the shame cycle. In sum: I become anxious and defensive and it manifests physically.
2. How do you protect yourself? See #1. I become egotistical, defensive, an inflated sense of self. I close myself off so I don't have to fully face criticism, correction, hurt, pain, humiliation, etc.
3. Who do you call to work through the mean-nasties or the cry-and-hides or the people-pleasing? I pretty much only reach out to E. I'm too embarrassed the admit nasty thoughts to other people, unless it's a rare occasion that I'm talking to A or H. I definitely need to work on keeping up with more consistent relationships to have more of an outlet/connection. I've never been even close to a people-pleaser, so I guess I have that going for me, ha.
4. What's the most courageous thing you could do for yourself when you feel small and hurt? I could forgive myself if appropriate. I could tell myself it's ok. I could speak up/confront the issue. I could talk it out with someone I care about. I could address the issue with the perpetrator. I could decide if it's worth letting go and do so.

Spirit Food

The term "soul food" has never really done much for me. I don't relate to the word "soul" -- I find it heavy and unrelatable. I've always been drawn much more to its synonym, spirit, perhaps because of its dual meaning. To me, spirit is the essence of being alive, of being lively, uplifting. Just saying the word itself offers a more joyful experience, to me anyway. All of this is to say: I read a really good book and I wanted to let you know about it.

Reading has always been a favorite pastime of mine. Curling up with a good book or a thought-provoking article truly feeds my spirit. Learning about other cultures, religions, and spiritual practices is such an eye-opening way to expand my horizons, to offer balance to the strict applied science that I employ for 40 hours a week. One of the most fulfilling books I've read is called "Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living," by Krista Tippett. If you're a fellow NPR nerd, you'll probably recognize her name. She is the host of "On Being," a show that dives into spiritual, religious, cultural, and scientific inquiries into what it means to be human. (This is my very humble interpretation.) In my opinion, she is one of the best interviewers out there. She has finally written a book to give us all insight into what she has distilled from the twelve years of conversations with scientists, poets, activists, and priests.

I could really go on and on about this book (and her show), but I won't. One chapter really stood out to me and happily is also the most relevant to what I normally discuss here. Flesh: The Body's Grace expounds the scientific and spiritual connection between mind and body. She discusses meditation, yoga, poetry, and... food. And that was what I really needed to hear during this chapter in my life. She discusses an interview she hosted with Dan Barber that struck a chord with me. (If you aren't familiar with his philosophy and work, it's fascinating; consider researching it when you have time.) Dan Barber is credited with bringing "farm to table" to the mainstream, but his work encompasses so much more than that. He talks about food in a spiritual yet practical sense. The science of growing food in an authentically sustainable manner, the process of cooking, the act of nourishing one's body through eating, are all moments to be savored. He explains that there is a correlation between how delicious something tastes (measured in degrees Brix, the concentration of sugar) and how nutritious it is. Now, he's not talking about donuts, obviously, but rather foods like carrots. I find this so fascinating, but also pretty discouraging. When was the last time you tasted a truly delicious carrot? They literally don't make 'em like they used to. If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself, I guess.

Another point that was really driven home to me in this chapter was the connection between what we eat, how we eat it, and how that makes us feel, physically, mentally, and spiritually. I gotta be honest with you, it's been a rough few months for us, food-wise, as I alluded in my last post. Sure, we've been eating some frozen veggies and organic, whole grain chicken nuggets as we deal with our temporary partial kitchen. But frozen veggies aren't nearly as satisfying as a big ol' fresh salad that you just chopped up yourself, or even fresh produce cooked in some manner. And frozen organic chicken nuggets are still frozen chicken nuggets. There's no effort, a lack of wholesomeness, less than stellar nourishment. And I am feeling cut off from my mind-body-spiritual connection as a result. It took Krista Tippet and Dan Barber to point that out to me, it was so all-encompassing.

The good new is: tomorrow is the big day. Soon I'll have to tools and space required to help fix that broken connection. I'll definitely be re-reading this book, especially the Flesh chapter, as I go along. I really encourage you to explore this book and see if there's something in it that you need in your life. There is so much more than what I discussed here. There is an abundance of beauty, love, and hope within its pages, which I believe we could all really use right now in this cultural climate.

---

Have you read this book? What did you think about it? Is there a similar one you recommend? Have you overcame that lack of mind-body-spirit connection? If so, how? Or how are you planning on starting? Please let me know your thoughts in the comments, I'd love to hear of your experiences!

Hello from CO!

Well now. In my last post I was embarrassed that I hadn't posted in almost two months... over six months later, here I am again! I have an excuse, I swear! My husband and I relocated to BEAUTIFUL Northern Colorado and I couldn't be happier about it! I was offered a job at an area hospital lab in the Transfusion Services department, and something was telling me that I just had to go for it. And I am SO glad we did!

In the meantime, we've been living in a furnished one-bedroom apartment with, like, half a kitchen. Hence the complete lack of posts here. I would like to say that I've been doing the best I can with what I was provided, and that's probably mostly true. But we've been eating way more processed food than we were used to and it's starting to show, heh, and we can definitely feel it. But luckily! We close on our new house in less than two days! We can't wait to start this new chapter in our lives, and I most certainly can't wait to bust all my wonderful kitchen supplies out of their storage locker prison and get back to some healthful, wholesome, homemade meals.

Which brings me to my next point. As we adapt to single-family-home-ownership over the next few months, I think I will be taking this li'l blog o' mine in a little bit of a new direction for awhile. Basically, I'll probably be too distracted by household projects to delve into new recipes much. So I think I will start to incorporate more "lifestyle" into what I write about: cleaning, decorating, gardening, etc., so you can follow along with what we discover along the way. Plus everybody loves learning about cleaning tips and decorating ideas, right? Or is that just me?

Like I said, we are so excited for this new leg in our journey (including Tilly the cat -- she can't wait for more territory to rule over), and I truly hope you'll stay tuned and join me on it. And if you have any advice regarding moving into a new-to-you home, please leave it in the comments -- I'm sure we need all the help we can get! Thanks, and have a beautiful day!