Hands up if you’ve already had your first cold of 2018…. what about your second one? I’ve got both of my hands up in the air.

London is cold and rainy. The news is…ugh. And argh.

This year I am trying to focus on the choices I have available to me. I have actively taken a great deal of responsibilities and roles off of my plate, so I can focus on the most important ones. I can’t do everything, so I’m trying damn hard to make sure I’m putting my all towards what I can do. It feels risky, as I put myself out there or invest in my decisions rather than trying to spread myself thin across the board. It feels difficult to let other things go, things that I would normally be volunteering my time and energies towards (don’t we all love to feel needed?). I’m trying to slow down.

Rest is something we all tend to do only once we get sick, and often times we leave ourselves little room for it otherwise. I’m trying to do better. I’m trying to slow down, to rest, to make homemade soup and put my phone down so I can go further and stronger for longer.  So I can absorb and appreciate what is actually happening before it moves on like everything does.

This soup. This soup is one of my wintertime favourites. The sweetness of the sweet potato and carrot, the tartness of the apple and the bite of ginger both soothing and refreshing.  Soon enough signs of spring will start to show. But this can be appreciated just as it is, right now, as cold number three is beginning to brew.

Sunshine Soup

(or Carrot, Sweet Potato, Apple & Ginger Soup- but that’s just not as fun to say)

2 shallots, peeled and finely diced

1 -2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2″ size chunks

3-4 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2″ size rounds

2 large Bramley apples or other tart varieties, peeled and cut into 1/2″ size chunks

1/2 thumb ginger, grated or diced

4 cups water, vegetable or chicken stock

Directions

In a large, heavy-bottomed soup pot add 1-2 tbsp oil and bring to a medium high heat. Add in your shallots and ginger and cook until translucent and fragrant, approx 4-5 minutes.

From here it gets super simple. Add in the peeled sweet potatoes, carrots and apples, then give your ingredients a good few stirs to combine and coat with the oil and aromatics.  Cover and let cook for approx 5 minutes, or until the apples start to break down ever so slightly- they shouldn’t take very long. You should already begin to smell the sweetness of the carrot and sweet potato.

Add your water or stock to the pot, turn the heat down to a low/medium, and simmer away until everything is soft. Then blitz in the blender, smile and serve. You can always finish with a little pad of butter or splash of cream/milk for extra silkiness.