Favorite Time of Day, Favorite Soup!

It's 6:30 am and I'm just walking in the door from an excellent run with Kate. Its about 24 degrees out, pitch black dark, and my pace has slowed to about 9:15 to 9:30 according to my Garmin, but I still feel really happy right now. This is definitely the best part of my day. I feel like I am operating on stolen time. The rest of the houses on my street are dark and only a few cars are making their way to work. The bitter cold, which will seem miserable the rest of the day, felt amazing to breathe into my lungs for 45 minutes this morning while my heart was pumping and my temperature was up.

No one is fighting, begging for chocolate milk, making a mess that needs cleaning, needing to be anywhere at any time, or needing me for anything in general. I remember my friend Jean (mother of 6) telling me she used to get up at 5 am to read the paper and sip her coffee as her quiet time. I used to think she was nuts but now I totally get it!!

Don't get me wrong, I HATE my alarm - I want to throw it against the wall - when it goes off at 5:22. The whole time I'm getting dressed I think about how freaking cold it is and how much I hate that I'm awake and about to be outside and how I'm not going to do this again this week and how I stay up too late every night. You just gotta hold on to the feeling of how good its going to be when you're done. And I realize I'm pretty lucky to not have to rush anyone to the bus for kindergarten that leaves at 7:30 or bustle into the shower quickly to be at work by 7 or hurry home to a husband who is leaving for work and kids who sleep in until 7:15! I'm grateful for this stolen time.

Anyway enough monologuing - Kate and I were talking about SOUP (MY FAVORITE!!) and I wanted to share this amazing recipe I love for its ease and its uniqueness. I actually made this 2 nights ago but my camera was in my room, so no pictures but a stolen one :) The recipe is compliments of Cooking Light magazine (here is the way they do it), with a few of my own changes.

Thai Coconut Curry Chicken Soup

The recipe calls for boiling the noodles and spinach separately but that's just more time and more dishes so I skip that. Instead, I start with heating olive oil over medium heat in a soup pan. Add:

• 1 thinly sliced small white/yellow onion


• 3 cloves chopped garlic


• about a 1 inch piece chopped ginger


• (If you're using raw chicken then add chopped chicken breast here, I prefer to use leftover chicken I've shredded or a rotisserie chicken for ease)


• 2 tsp red curry paste (more if you like heat)


• 1-1/2 tsp curry powder


• 1/2 tsp ground turmeric


• 1/2 tsp ground coriander

Add 6 cups (1 carton) of chicken broth and bring to a boil.

Add 1 14 oz can of light coconut milk, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Add 3-4 cups of spinach and let wilt.

Add 1 handful of Pad Thai noodles (I've also used wide lo-mein noodles when Pad Thai noodles weren't available) and cook for 3 minutes before adding shredded chicken (if using leftovers or rotisserie)

Stir in 2 tbl sugar, 2 tbl fish sauce, the juice from 1 lime, fresh cilantro to taste, and a dash of crushed red pepper.