Buttercup Squash Curry and a New Food Adventure

My resolution this year is simple.

Feel Good and be happy & authentic.

I realize this is rather vague, and maybe that would make the success of it undefinable and therefore a failure as a resolution in the eyes of many.
But you know what, dammit, it's my life and I do what I want! (No wonder my mother and I never got along when I was a teenager) ... But really, what I'm getting at here is that my life is mine and no one Else's. The same holds true for you. Only you know what is right for you. And whether you're consciously aware of it or not, you can feel it at the core of your being. This knowing is so simple, and so quiet, and so calm, and so polite that we have have a tendency to oftentimes dismiss it.

But don't you fret, the lovely thing about this ultimate wisdom at the center of who you are, is that it  loves you more than anything. It is patient and unconditional and will always be there for you when you are ready to listen, no matter how many times you have blatantly disregarded it. (I have learned this from a LOT of experience... I'm apparently a very S.L.O.W. learner) 

Which leads me to this question,
Have you ever had the sensation that something just isn't quite right in your life, but you can't seem to put your finger on it? You rack your brain and beat yourself up over it, until you're so tired of trying to figure it out that finally you just go eat cookies, shop, watch TV, drink a beer, run, (insert your choice of distracting activity here ____) or all of the above?   I have, I have!! Okay, so what do we do to get past this and figure it the hell out? The best I can come up with is this.

STOP. TRYING.

 I have found the best thing to do when I don't know what to do is to ask myself a question, then do nothing. Stop thinking about it. And then I listen... but only when I'm ready of course. I usually do this right before I go to bed.

I have found that when I wake up in the morning the answer to my question is almost always there.

Here's my most recent question to myself: 

What can I do differently so that I can feel more energetic and healthy and purposeful and happy? 

(What?! That's not a compound question) 

The answer that was given to me:

Experiment with a Vegan Lifestyle and share your experiences.

Which leads me to the brand new food adventure I have embarked upon...

'A Season of Vegan'

(when I say this in my head it sounds grand, like a big throaty man voice coming from the depths of a mysterious cave) 
 

That's right. From New Years Day to April Fools day I will be living as a full time Vegan. I do realize that these dates do not actually constitute a season on our Gregorian Calendar (Sweet's taught me the word Gregorian this weekend, and I've been dying to use it) but it's 3 months, which is the same thing to me. Like I've said before, I make up my own rules.

This may seem random and bizarre (I warned you that I have a tendency to be weird, I can't help it) , but I promise I will explain further in the upcoming days.

For now though, I will leave you with a delicious recipe and another question,  since I feel I have sufficiently talked your face off already. 

Question: What kind of questions might you ask yourself today, if you knew you'd be provided with the answer?

Food, nom, nom: Buttercup Squash Curry 

 SQUASH, ONION, GARLIC, MUSTARD SEEDS, FENNEL SEEDS, CORIANDER, GINGER, TOMATO PASTE, RED PEPPER, RICE, LIME, CILANTRO

I got this recipe from the Powerfoods cookbook, which I have cooked from many many times. It called for Butternut squash, which I couldn't find, so ended up with Buttercup squash? Have you ever heard of it? I had not. Anyhoo... it ended up being super hard. I felt as if I was trying to peel and cut a bowling ball. To remedy this I roasted it in the oven at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes and it softened up significantly. I'm not sure if I just picked a crappy buttercup squash or if this is true of them in general, but at any rate although the flavor was fine, I recommend saving yourself a headache and getting butternut if you can.

Peel and cut up a buttercup squash or 2 small butternuts.

Puree 1 onion, 4 garlic cloves, and 1 T water in a blender or food processor.

Heat 1 T oil in large pot. Add 1 tsp mustard seed, 1 tsp fennel seed, and 1/4 tsp coriander. cook 1-2 minutes until fragrant.

Stir in onion paste and one 2 inch piece of freshly grated ginger. Cook while stirring , until caramelized. About 7 minutes.

Add 2 T tomato paste. Stir it in and then add 3 Cups water, 2 tsp salt, and red pepper flakes to taste. Add Squash. Cover partially and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until squash is tender. 12-15 minutes.

Serve over rice and garnish with cilantro and lime.

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