Ms. Independent

It's a very rare occasion that I ask for help. Just ask Becca, she can back me up on this. She'll probably even tell you the story about the time I got food poisoning. I don't like to do it. Why ask others to do what you can do yourself? I attribute this to my strong sense of independence. Others liken it to the behavior of a stubborn two year old who has to do everything by themselves. Regardless of what you think it is, it is just part of who I am. Take it or leave it, because clearly at this age I'm not changing. I will admit there is one circumstance in which I am tempted to ask for some help and that is when I am sick. I said tempted, doesn't mean I do it. No one likes being sick, but when you are in constant motion like I am the idea of having to spend two days in bed is HORRIBLE. This however was my fate this week. Two days of no work, no leaving my apartment, and hardly leaving the comfort of my bed. I am going stir crazy. Thank goodness I am going back to work tomorrow. When I am sick I want 4 things (and sadly none of them is my mommy, she is not so good around sick). 1. Mac and Cheese 2. Soup 3. Movies 4. Vicks Vaporub (that stuff is magic I tell you). Mac and Cheese - check. Movies-double check. Vaporub-triple check. Soup- fail. No soup in the whole joint. No problem, I can make my own. Which I did. This may in fact be my new sick day soup. The only problem was that I had to make it. When you don't have one of those boyfriend or husband things or even a nursing mother around you have to learn to fend for yourself. So I mustered up what was left of my strength and put this together. I also immediately passed out when I was done eating. Who knew that cooking could take so much out of a sick person? I don't know, but between you and me this soup may be what helped me on my way to healing. I didn't even need any help.

Curry Pumpkin Soup
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons curry powder
3 cups chicken broth
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin
1 1/2 cups condensed milk
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon white sugar

1 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp ground ginger

2 cloves of garlic

1/4 cup of onion
salt and pepper to taste
Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until browned. Stir in flour and curry powder until smooth. Cook, stirring, until mixture begins to bubble. Gradually whisk in broth, and cook until thickened. Add the onion and cook for about a minute. Stir in pumpkin and milk. Season with soy sauce, sugar,cumin, ginger, salt, and pepper. Bring just to a boil, then remove from heat.

* I found a version of this recipe online and adapted it to my liking. I never got the flour/curry to be smooth and so I added the broth right away to prevent burning. The original recipe is sans the ginger, cumin, onions and garlic and uses less curry. It also uses half and half and 4 cups of veg. broth and 29 ounces of pumpkin.*