Jetlag is exhausting!

As many of you have noticed, we have been slightly incommunicado this past week thanks to jetlag. We seem to have made pond-hopping the favorite sport of our family in the past two years, but that doesn't mean we get off scot-free in the jetlag department. This time seemed particularly hard on Ellie, who handled it beautifully stateside. Our nights have been interrupted with two hours or so of extreme wakefulness on Ellie's part between midnight and 2am. Any attempts to ignore this have resulted in screaming jags that put soundproofing between us and our neighbors to the test. Experts (whomever they are) say that children adjust one hour per day, so we should have the worst of it (if not all of it) behind us now. Ellie has slept through the night the last two nights, but only after a late late bedtime. Now Jennifer has the worst of it; being a creature of habit means she now stays wide awake until 2am or so (I suppose to compensate for the habit of Ellie waking up during those hours anyway). Let's hope this week gets us all back to normal!

Meanwhile, I have a recipe to share. My beautiful, Hawaiian-livin', vegan master chef friend has been posting and sharing some amazing recipes of late (you really must try her roasted pepper sandwiches and zucchini bread!), so I thought I should share one too. Once again this week, I made wild rice-cranberry soup, the cover recipe from Paulette Mitchell's a beautiful bowl of soup cookbook. Although the colors and flavors really say "autumn" more than "spring", we can't help loving it anytime. The only real downside is the sheer amount of preparation time involved. I make the vegetable stock in advance (usually in huge batches so I can freeze it for later use), and it's easiest if I make the wild rice a day in advance too, as it takes around an hour just for that. Those of you with food processors should have no trouble with chopping the veggies, but those without have to plan on some time investment there too. But it's worth it! I promise you!

Wild rice-cranberry soup

4 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
1/2 c finely chopped onion
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
3 c vegetable stock
1.5 c cooked wild rice (we like to use more)
1/2 c dried cranberries
1 c milk or half-and-half
2 Tbsp dry sherry
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the carrot, celery and onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until the carrot is tender, about 8 minutes.
Add the flour and stir until smooth. Gradually add the vegetable stock, whisking constantly to prevent lumps. Increase the heat to medium-high and stir until the soup is thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the rice and cranberries. Reduce the heat; cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the cranberries are softened and plumped, about 15 minutes.
Stir in all the remaining ingredients. Stir occasionally until warmed through. Season to taste.

This recipe is vegetarian, and it should be easy to veganize. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!