Tasting w/ Friends - Carrot, Sweet Potato Bisque

There is just something about having friends over to taste your creations that makes me want to pull out all the stops and really cook from my heart!

Today my very good friend took me to an inspirational service at Glide Memorial in San Francisco.  I was reminded that we are of "one faith", and when the words flashed across the screen (Peace, Shalom, Assalamu alaikum, Hala, Asmomdwoe, Paz, Lape, Nye, Satta, Pace, Friede, Fred, Heddwch, Rauhu, Paix, Sith, Fridde, Frad, Beke and Namaste), I was transported to that very human place in me that connects with everyone and everything.  The music ministry there is so awesome; it really is like no other service I've ever been to.  Songs like "Down by the Riverside", "Oh Happy Day" and "Pass me Not" were sung with feeling and a happiness that was sorely contagious.  My pew neighbor and I greeted one another, hugged and tapped our feet together and almost broke out in a dance once or twice.  My heart was so freed-up that I had to show my friend a great meal and on the way home I was putting together a menu in my head...lol!


We got in early as service is only a mere hour, and I got right into it.  Fresh organic and local carrots, sweet potatoes, onions, fennel and a bag of spices that filled the air with a sweet smell that had my BFF calling out "smells good" from the living room!  I put them all in a pot together and simmered for a slow hour, then pureed to a smooth creamy fantasy with a bit of raw pressed hemp oil and organic half & half.  If she had more time I would have made some flatbread...but alas...she did have to get home sometime today...lol!

While the Black Eyed Peas played (I got a feelin'...) in the background, I finished each bowl of soup with a bit of crispy rendered apple smoked bacon, chives and a swirl of creme fraiche. A simple side salad of spinach and arugula w/ jicama matchsticks and homemade Meyer lemon dressing was the perfect balance to the sweet smelling pot; and to share the meal was truly a fantastic opening to welcome the afternoon and be grateful for our lives, the abundance therein and each other's company!

Thanks for being my taster today Janet!  I appreciate you.

"Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom."   

-- Marcel Proust