California Cucumber Avocado Soup by Khashayar Parsi

Recipe: CA Cucumber/Avocado Soup by Khashayar + Poem by Anushka

Has anyone ever asked you about yourself while their eyes glint that they’ve pre-judged anything you might answer? This Thanksgiving, a carnivore friend inquired whether I get bored eating mostly vegetarian, just the occasional fish. First I scrabbled, then politely changed the subject with a segue into my love of writing (click on this link for info about my books). Had I not checked myself, I would have waxed endlessly upon the delicious flavors, aromas, flavors, textures, and colors of the foods I enjoy. All that’s too small a step to resist from a ‘by the way’ of how easily I’ve recently also eliminated starch and sugar, given the utter nirvana of being untethered from decades of frequent brain fog, headaches, fatigue, aching joints, and other general crapola that dragged me down in terms of mind, body, and spirit. No worries, dear reader, you too are spared from my soapbox. This is just a lead-in to Khashayar’s latest ultra tasty and healthy recipe… California Cucumber Avocado Soup by Khashayar Parsi

California Cucumber Avocado Soup by Khashayar Parsi

Step 1

  • 1 large onion, chopped 
  • 6 cloves garlic 
  • 1 rounded Tablespoon minced ginger 
  • 1 level Tablespoon cumin seeds 
Sauté all the above in 1/4 cup olive oil.

Step 2

  • 1/3 cup red lentils 
  • 4 cups coconut milk, unsweetened 
  • 4 cups almond milk, unsweetened 
Stir in above and bring to boil. Cook for 15 minutes, until lentils are tender.

Step 3

Set aside and add:
  • 2 medium avocados, chopped 
  • 1/2 large English cucumber, chopped
  • Salt and pepper to taste (suggestion is 2 level Tablespoons salt and 2 level teaspoons of black pepper. Add half of the amount first to taste whether you want to add more.)
  • 1/2 a fresh lime
  • Zest of one whole lime 
  • 2 cups chopped mixed salad greens (kale, mustard, spinach)
Emulsify. Adjust salt and pepper.

Step 4

Add:
  • 4 large mushrooms, sliced 
Bring to boil. Cook 5 minutes.

Step 5

  • Mince other half of cucumber.
  • Serve with cucumber as garnish.
  • For a non-vegan option, you can garnish it with yogurt or cream.
Yum! Enjoy!
  • Additional drooling observation from da-AL: you can never go wrong with a drizzle of the finest, most peppery and back-of-the-throat stinging olive oil.
Close up of oil drizzed into California Cucumber Avocado Soup by Khashayar Parsi.
Today’s guest blog post is by blogger/psychology student Anushka Argawal. Based out of India, she explains, “I write poems when I feel emotionally overwhelmed and sometimes just for fun like when I am experiencing some different sensory information that is different”…

A Poem by Anushka Argawal

A false feeling of wellness is settled inside of her,  She is lying, lying to herself for the wellness of others, She is doing everything she can to believe in herself, She is trying, trying so hard that it’s not working, She is breathing, breathing so much that her heart stops beating, She is fighting, fighting so much that only blood is left, She is feeling guilty, so guilty that She stops everything else, She is now still, so still that everyone forgets her.
What food makes you feel amazingly great?

Discover more from Happiness Between Tales (and Tails) by da-AL

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39 thoughts on “Recipe: CA Cucumber/Avocado Soup by Khashayar + Poem by Anushka”

  1. What a delightful combination of creativity and culinary inspiration! The cucumber avocado soup recipe sounds refreshing and perfect for a healthy meal, and the accompanying poem adds a lovely artistic touch. I appreciate how the post blends food and art, creating a unique and engaging read. Thank you for sharing this beautiful mix of nourishment for both body and soul

    Liked by 1 person

  2. I think I would just have answered “no” to that question, discussion over. I have always been lucky that nobody started a discussion about my being a vegetarian.

    Khashayar’s soup recipe sounds delicious. I should try it, Steffen loves avocados.

    Anushka’s poem is very sad, if beautiful. It sounds to me like personal experience, so heartfelt.

    Food that really makes me feel good are paneer Tikka Masala or butter makhani or last but not least Kashayar’s herb salat; I could shovel that into me, it is that delicious. ❤

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Khashayar will be so happy when I tell him!

      Advice taken Birgit 🥰 I welcome questions and feel it’s only fair because I’m curious about other people. Intention is everything to me but sometimes it’s not immediately obvious whether people are judging or curious

      There seems to be a number of eaters who have a sense of entitlement that spills over into demanding rich (in all senses of the word) food?

      Often Im amazed by the level of physical discomfort people will trade for hanging onto the same diet as when they were in their 20s. Perhaps it’s a blessing that when I ate poorly at that age I was plagued with migraines, depression, etc.

      For too long I hated myself for being over sensitive, including thinking about what I’m eating in the sense of imagining killing animals… Now I regard it as an unwanted and sometimes unwieldy sort of super power that enables me to truly welcome things that make me feel better 😂

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Hm, to me the question sounded already negatively loaded (do you never get bored …). People who are really interested usually ask why, and will ask more in detail after a short answer. When they ask me, I usually say for health reasons, which is not a lie, though not the only reason. When I was young, I had an extremely low blood pressure and always problems with my metabolism. That disappeard completely after I started eating without meat. My blood pressure also went up to more normal values.
        I would not be able to kill an animal myself for eating, which means that when I buy meat, I let the slaughterer bear the karmic implications for my wish to eat meat, plus, of course, that I don’t want the animals to be dead. You cannot tell that to everybody, some will declare me nuts. But even my omnivore mother said that she would not eat meat if she had to kill the animals herself.
        People do many things that they know are bad for them. And instead of eating healthier, they prefer to pop pills; a vicious circle.
        How sad that you hated yourself for being sensitive, which – in my eyes – just showed your healthy instincts. ❤

        Liked by 1 person

  3. It was a very emotional and sad but beautiful poem. The recipe looks very interesting. I am not a vegetarian but I am trying to reduce my meat consuption to very little. I know it is not good for the environment, not to mention modern factory farms. I think Indian vegetarian dishes are great. People who are judgmental and narrow minded about other people’s lifestyles are best ignored.

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