The migraine is finally gone!

After 4 days (knock on wood) I think it's gone! The Topamax had been working so well I had forgotten what it was like to be migraine free.

Today was a trip into town for my WW weigh in. I lost 1.2 lbs this week. Yay!

Luckily dinner last night was easy - the migraine wasn't letting me do much thinking. I had leftover roasted veggies: cauliflower, carrots and Brussels sprouts. I also had a bit of leftover peas & pimientos (recipe posted last week) and I threw in a can of artichoke hearts (not marinated and drained). I made a quick white sauce (butter, flour and skim milk) and threw in a bit of blue cheese and tossed everything together with some whole wheat pasta. I didn't use a lot of pasta, so it was mostly veggies. I must admit, I was able debating about making a curry sauce instead, but I was really wanting the blue cheese more. [For the curry just add curry powder to the melted butter when you add flour.]

Tonight is the Carrot-Miso Soup with Wasabi Peas from the Jan 2009 Vegetarian Times. I've made it, and tasted it. It's ok. It might be better with Farmer's Market or home-grown carrots, but with just the organic carrots I normally get it's just ok. I think I'd like it even better as a squash or sweet potato soup instead. It just needs something - I am hoping that when I sprinkle the crushed wasabi peas on top it'll help (since I'm thinking some ginger might help) but we'll see.

{later} Hubby says he thinks that instead of blending it smooth that he thinks it would be better slightly chunky. I did use the kombu on top. Maybe I'd like it better with a darker miso - I usually use red when I have miso soup since I like it better.

Carrot-Miso Soup with Wasabi Peas
Serves 6
Vegan

Instead of calling for vegetable broth, we've seasoned the liquid in this soup with kombu, a seaweed commonly used in Japanese soup stocks. For an extra Asian flair, save the kombu used to season the soup, cut it into thin strips and sprinkle it on top of each serving with the wasabi peas.

1 Tbsp canola oil
1 med leek, sliced into thin rings (1 cup)
1 clove garlic, minced (1 tsp)
1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 1/2 lb carrots, peeled and sliced (5 cups)
3 Tbsp jasmine rice
1 4x2 inch piece kombu
1 1/2 Tbsp white miso
2 tsp agave nectar
1/3 cup crushed dried wasabi peas, for garnish

Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Cook leek in oil 7 minutes, or until softened, stirring occasionally. Stir in garlic, and cook 1 minute more. Add vinegar to deglaze pan, and cook 1 minute.

Add carrots, rice, kombu, and 5 cups water. Bring to a simmer, cover, reduce heat to a medium-low, and cook 30 minutes, or until carrots are tender. Remove kombu, and blend soup until smooth.

Spoon 1 cup soup into small bowl. Whisk in miso and agave nectar until smooth. Whisk miso-agave-soup mixture back into soup. Serve soup with wasabi peas sprinkled on top.

Per serving: 122 cal, 3g prot, 3 g total fat, 10.5g sat fat, 22g carb, 0mg chol, 229 mg sod, 4g fib, 11g sugar