Soup. Rain. 'Nuff Said.

I am officially back to working full time since having Theo, er, 18 months ago.  After the first week I'm feeling good, a little tired and overwhelmed but good.  It really is an adjustment for the whole family though when both parents work and babe is in 'school', life seems to go by so damn fast. I'm always rushing it seems, rushing to daycare so I'm not late for work, rushing home before Theo falls asleep so he can eat dinner and go to bed at a reasonable time, throwing in a load of laundry while taking the dog for a whizz, anything I can do to save a minute here and there.  I'm not complaining, well sorta not complaining, I don't think at this stage I'd have it any other way.  I'm finding I just need to prioritize this time on the weekends just the way I want it.  60% snuggled with Theo and Simon reading, singing, cuddling, playing at the park/library or some such location, movies/damages, treating ourselves to a dinner out, watching Wiggles (a incredibly mind numbing children's show), 30% cooking, baking, reading blog recipes, grocery shopping and 10% doing the hated tasks; figuring out what's rotten in my kitchen, washing disgusting diapers, cleaning the bathroom, picking up toys and putting them in their designated basket just to have them dug out and dumped on the floor five minutes later...ugh.

My new strategy is to take my Sunday and do some meal planning/meal prepping and bulk cooking, so far, so good.  I made the below recipe, adapted from this great cookbook, last weekend and it was real good.  We ended up eating it for a couple of days, it's really kid friendly thanks to the corn, which is in season and nice and sweet.  I also doubled a standard coconut curry recipe so we chomped on that for a bit too.  I'm trying real real hard not to let good food go by the waist side when it's so important to me.  Some things are just more important than a clean bathroom, right?..clean underwear, maybe not so much.  

Summer Corn and Vegetable Soup
adapted from The Food you Crave; Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life
by Ellie Krieger

4 cups fresh corn
2 cups milk
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 red pepper, chopped
1 small zucchini
a handful of new potatoes (5-8)
1 cup chickpeas
2 cups broth or water
2 plum tomatoes (seeded and diced)
a good bunch of basil chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Put two cups of the corn in a blender with the milk and process until smooth.  Set aside.

Heat the oil in a pot.  Add the onion, bell pepper, zucchini, potato and chickpeas and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are tender.  Add the remaining 2 cups of corn, basil and the broth and bring to a boil.  Add the pureed corn and the tomatoes and cook until warmed through.  Season accordingly.

Happy Weekending!