Fire Soup

Coleman and I are easing back into homeschool after our trip back east. We've been back about a week and a half and not a lot of official work has been accomplished. While we were in Massachusetts I found my thoughts on our homeschooling days shifted a bit. I think we're almost completely de-schooled. Which puts me in a new place mentally, a place that feels more sure than before about his ability to step up to the plate and get some work done. This week we have revisited Khan Academy and have begun working again more seriously at math, but I get ahead of myself. Here's how I knew Coleman was ready to get more serious: He made soup. Fire Soup. Lead to the kitchen by the inviting aroma of onions, garlic and ginger sautéing away on the stove. Add to that chopped carrots and sweet potatoes and he was eager to partake. (It was surely very helpful that he was hungry.) What got him cooking up his own pot of soup? I was adding lentils and chicken stock to my stew. He didn't want either of those two things and for sure didn't want stew. Soup was a much more appealing menu item. And so he began digging through all the food and spices we had and built himself a most delicious soup for dinner, all by himself, without even a little prompting. I mean really, really delicious. Step aside Jamie Oliver!

Fire Soup Recipe (makes enough for one big bowl of soup!)

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp olive oil 
1/4 of a Large onion, chopped
1 large clove crushed garlic
1/2 tsp crushed ginger
1 medium carrot, peeled and diced
1/2 sweet potato, diced
1 small white potato, diced
5 thinly sliced apricots
1 Tbs raisins
10 grinds sea salt
7 grinds black pepper
1 tsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp apple cider vinegar
a dash of each: cinnamon, paprika, cayenne pepper, turmeric
1 1/2 cups vegetable stock

Directions:

1. Using a medium sized pot, on medium-low flame, sauté the onion until translucent, add garlic and ginger and stir for 3 minutes.
2. Add: carrot and both types of potato and a small amount of stock to pot. Cook for 5-10 minutes on low heat.
3. Add: salt, pepper, sugar, cinnamon, paprika, cayenne & turmeric, stir to coat vegetables.
4. Add vegetable stock and vinegar, cook on low/medium for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Add apricots and raisins, cook for 5 minutes more.

Serve with croutons and water with lemon slices for a beverage.

If you try this recipe please write to me so I can let Coleman know how you enjoyed it, or how you might change it! Thanks.