The Perfect Imperfect Curry...

                                                                                            -- A 13 Yr Old
In the spate of last week's suicides by two celebrities....one of whom I adored Anthony Bourdain, there was a lot of introspection going on in my head. I lost a 44 year old cousin  two years back to Suicide...she had the perfect job, the perfect house and the perfect two children...yet she couldn't find that elusive happiness and the strife to keeping it all "just right" got to her...
It was a huge wake-up call for me...I am this person who usually doesn't really care about what others think about me and focus on doing the things that nourish my mind, body and soul...call that selfish...I call that a necessity for my existence. However, in the past few years, there has been a little bit of...omigod! what would she say if I did this or post this or act like this...this pressure to try to tweak my "branding"...to get it just "right" and then when G (my cousin) passed on...there was an aha! moment for me, along with the empty feeling of loss and grief. It was the fact that what was driving me nuts...up the wall was this constant clamour for perfection....perfectly clean house, perfectly completed to-do-list, perfectly groomed kid (and puppy), a perfect husband and a perfect me with a perfect social media page....REALITY : all hogwash...so tomorrow if you see this really short-haired woman walking by the bay in her Jammies talking to her scruffy puppy...that is moi....my gift to myself is this "gift of imperfection" and with it comes the joy and freedom of living life on my own terms.

I didn't really feel like cooking today and that's where my wonderful Instant Pot came in super handy with this < 10 minutes noodles almost like a vegetarian Khao Soi (without the hard work).  The recipe is healthy too (because healthy makes me happy). Here's how I rolled :

What you need

1. Thai Yellow Curry (click the link for what I used)
2. Explore Cuisine ChickPea Spaghetti (click for link for what I used) - 1 packet for 4 servings ( 11gms of fiber per serving, 25 gms of protein)
3. Some vegetables - any vegetables ( I used  onions, carrots, zucchini, cauliflower and white mushrooms)
4.  5 cups of water or vegetable broth
5. Liquid Aminos (for seasoning), Avocado Oil (or any other oil)
6. Thai Taste - Light Coconut Milk
7. Lime Juice, Cilantro  and Paprika for garnish

To Cook 

1. Turn on your Instant Pot to Saute. Add your oil....add the onions and the thai yellow curry and saute till Onions are translucent and the raw smell of the curry paste has reduced.
2. Add the veggies and the noodles and give it a stir.
3. Now add the water (or broth)
4. Put the IP on manual High Pressure for 3 minutes
5. When done open and add in the coconut milk+ Liquid Aminos to taste
6. Now add fresh lime juice, cut cilantro and paprika 
7. Dig into your perfect "imperfect curry"

And I want you to  Promise Yourself - To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind. To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet. To make all your friends feel that there is something special in them. Give every living creature you meet a smile (so what if they don't smile back, think of all the endorphins your smile is generating!). To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others. To think well of yourself and to proclaim this fact to the world (so what if no one else is listening, you are!).To live in faith that the whole world is on your side and you can do whatever you wished today and everyday!