Live Sweet and Sour Soup

How was your Saturday?  Ashley and I finally made it out to the pumpkin patch today.  After much online research, we decided on Gordon's Skagit Farms because we love Mount Vernon and had a great road trip there a few years ago.  The patch was every bit as adorable as their website -- beautiful pumpkins of all varieties, incredible prices, and even a corn maze!  You couldn't ask for more.

Even though it was supposed to pour buckets of rain today, it was absolutely gorgeous outside until this evening.  Something about walking around in this pumpkin patch with the sun shining over the entire field left me feeling amazingly blessed.  I don't know, maybe it was just a much-needed Vitamin D dose, but it was one of the moments when my frivolous worries slip away and I realize all of the small miracles in my life.  Thank you. 

For lunch today we stopped at the Skagit Valley Co-op.  We first discovered this little Co-op on the only vacation that Ashley and I have ever taken together. (A camping trip that went horribly wrong; remind me to tell you that story some day!) Even though it is three years later, the Co-op was just how I had remembered it.  Lots of yummy food options and the same small-town vibe. 

I haven't eaten much raw food since August.  Of course, I've had salads here and there and my typical green smoothie, but my body has definitely been craving more raw food lately.  I decided to indulge in some raw soup and came across this recipe from the March issue of Vegetarian Times.  It might not look like much, but it warms you up in the same way that cooked sweet and sour soup would.  You can also gently heat it if you prefer to. (As long as it's under 115 degrees fahrenheit it's still technically considered raw.) 


Serves 4.

1/2 cup mung bean sprouts
3 Tbs. nama shoyu
5 dried apricots
1 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onion
2 Tbs raw apple cider vinegar
1 Tbs. peeled and minced fresh ginger
1/2 cup cucumber, cut into strips
1 jalapeno chile, seeded and minced (2 Tbs.)
2 Tbs. fresh lime juice
2 Tbs. chopped cilantro
1 Tbs raw agave nectar
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper, or to taste

Stir together the sprouts and nama shoyu, and let marinate white you prepare the soup.

Soak apricots in a bowl of warm water for five minutes to soften.  Drain.

Place apricots, tomatoes, green onions, vinegar, ginger, and 3 cups of water in a blender or food processor; blend until smooth.  Transfer to serving bowl, and stir in cucumber, jalapeno, lime juice, cilantro, agave, cayenne, and sprout mixture.