Thai Red Lentil & Roasted Cauliflower Soup: chile oil, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves

 

The  aromatic smell of a ginger-lime broth with pan-seared halibut and the sounds of a ping-pong ball being energetically bounced off a table have now quietened.  I’m sitting in a silent home, with only the sound of Harvey snoring to awaken me from this third-trimester stupor.  My brother has just left after a long stay, and I’m already missing his cheery smile and sarcastic quips, and of course all the amazing food he made while he was here.  In the last 5 weeks, I have not only been pampered by my husband, but also by my brother who has been staying with us since Christmas.  (I received a note one day from my brother that read “Do less chores, do more yoga, drink more tea, take more naps, read a book, love you”). The two of them together have barely let me do anything since I’ve become increasingly tired and uncomfortable.  Although, I can’t complain too much; this pregnancy has been quite easy so far.  My biggest obstacle is accepting help and listening to what my body needs, which lately has been rest.  So, with gentle and loving nudges from my brother and husband, I have learned a new word: surrender.   “Surrender”: to relinquish control (haha! SO not easy for me!).  In the past couple of weeks I have learned to surrender to this pregnancy journey and be more accepting of what it requires, allowing others to help in ways I might not always like (I’m a bit of a stubborn, independent gal).  For my brother, this directly translates to food (we’re siblings, what do you expect?!).  Lucky for me, he loves food just as much as I do and was happy to spend most days in the kitchen helping out.

There can be no truer meaning to “nourishing” than a meal that is made with love by someone else.  While my brother was here, he not only helped with chores and made 5-star dinners and breakfasts for me, but lovingly stocked my freezer with meals to nourish my post-baby self.  One of my requests was a lentil soup which drew us both to Ottolenghi’s book “Plenty More”.   There are a million lentil soup recipes out there, but this one really stood out, not only for its simplicity, but its interesting additions such as the aromatic chili oil and vibrant sliced snap peas.  I requested the addition of cauliflower for some extra veggie-lovin, and my brother had the genius idea to roast it first to really deepen the flavour.  What we have here is a dynamite combination of textures, spices, protein, veggies, and love: a nourishing food at its core.

Each time I take one of these meals out of the freezer, I’ll think of my brother and the time and care he put into each one of these dishes.  Thank you, brother, for your time, love, patience and support over the past 5 weeks.  We miss you already! 

 

 

 

PS

A special thanks to my amazingly talented friend Kelli Ireland of LookTwice Photography for taking some maternity photos of me this week and making this pregger feel a bit more pampered! I am so lucky to have these memories documented in such a beautiful way! 35 weeks and counting!!!!