The "Comfort" of a Relationship

So, I'm getting married. It's slated to happen sometime next year, and yes, I am marrying the best man in the world. We've had a great time together, wining and dining, and wining and dining, and wining and dining, and now it's time to pay the piper. We got happy and comfortable and now we find ourselves chubby but still merry.

I completed a half-marathon last year, and I'm attempting to do the same this year, and it's only in a few months, so I have to stop the gluttony and get my arse moving around, and my lovely fiance has pledged to do the same.

So here we find ourselves gathered around the juicer once again. We've been juicing and eating only vegetables for a few days now, in an effort to detox and to lose weight. The weight is more important for me and the detox is more important for him (eating heavy foods causes his food allergies to fight back with a vengeance, so we are also trying to eradicate those).

We have both been woolly-headed and short on patience for the past few days, and I've had a wicked headache, but I figure that's all part of it, that we'll get used to the change and move on. We're actually really enjoying our food and instead of eating out a lot, I'm trying to get creative once again in the kitchen. I will post recipes, I promise. In fact, here's one from yesterday. It is simple and delicious.  The quantities will depend on how many you want to feed, but I'll approximate what I did.

Roasted Pepper Soup

3 (or more if you have them) peppers - I used red, orange, and yellow
1 poblano or jalapeno pepper (optional)
1 carton vegetable stock (or equivalent homemade)
3 carrots, chopped
1 medium onion or 1/2 large onion, chopped
3-4 stalks celery, chopped
salt to taste
1 bunch cilantro (or parsley), also optional
1 can tomatoes

Sautee the carrots, celery, and onion in olive oil or coconut oil until they start to get soft. Add some salt at the beginning of this. I also added a little garlic powder for good measure, but it's not necessary.

Meanwhile, set your oven to broil and halve the peppers (including the poblano) and scrape out the seeds. Brush the peppers with oil and set them inside side down on a cookie sheet and broil them until the skin blackens and blisters, about 10-15 minutes. When I take them out, I rip the skin off as soon as they are cool enough for me to stand it!

When your veggie mixture is finished sauteeing, transfer it to a big saucepan and add the can of tomatoes and the vegetable stock and the roasted peppers. At this point, add some more salt and a few sprigs of cilantro. Let the soup boil and then simmer long enough for the flavours to combine, about thirty minutes or so.

Then take the best kitchen tool ever (the immersion blender) and blend the soup right in the saucepan. Before you do, you could add a little more cilantro.

I added some chopped cilantro to the top and served with salt and pepper.

This is delicious. You should try it!