Every day I wake up and the thought floats through my head I could skip yoga today. I could just do it at home. And then I lasso that thought and look it up and down. Why don’t I want to do the things I know make me feel good? I love yoga. The space it creates in my mind. The expansiveness I feel in my body. The spacious calm I feel after practice.

It’s the little kid inside of me that wants to rebel against the system. And that wants to eat cereal sitting 6 inches away from the television screen. It’s me standing 3 feet tall in a pink tutu raging against the medicine.

But it’s hard to take the medicine. To drag myself out of bed and go for a run. To drink enough water. To meditate. There’s this natural pulling away from participating in what I need the most. Medicine isn’t fun.

There’s sort of an internal circle of characters we all inhabit, throughout life. When we’re irresponsible with ourselves, we become a child. When we’re too hard on ourselves, we become our own parent. When we do something brave (even though we’re scared), we’re the hero. When we trick ourselves into believing lies, we’re the prankster. At different times in life (even different hours in the day) we’re one of a hundred different archetypes. The wise old man/woman, young aspirant, joker, damsel in distress, child, mother, father, shadow, dreamer, warrior. We live unconsciously animating these archetypes into being.

Today I am the child. And then I am the mother guiding myself into the light.

Sometimes you have to hold your own hand to guide the medicine to your lips.

Speaking of the mother archetype: I developed this hemp gazpacho while channeling my inner hippie mama. I gathered the basil from my own potted plants. I chose the tomatoes carefully, lovingly from the farmers market. I added a touch of this and that until reaching the pinnacle of delicious summer flavor. If the season had a taste, this would be it.

This hemp gazpacho. It’s a celebration of luscious Summer tomato harvests, punchy and tangy-sweet. Porcini adds essential, grounding umami. Balsamic vinegar brings out the juicy flavor of the ripe tomatoes. I’ve added hemp hearts for protein and a dose of Omega-3’s. They add a lovely creaminess to the chilled soup. And it makes this gazpacho more filling and nourishing on its own, if you’re looking for a light dinner. I might pair it with millet socca. Or maybe some of these gorgeous eggplant “meat-balls” from my friend Laura of The First Mess. If you don’t have access to heirloom tomatoes use a tangy-sweet variety with juicy flesh.

Hippie Harvest Hemp Gazpacho

Recipe Type

:

Soup

Cuisine:

Spanish

Author:

Renee Shuman (Will Frolic for Food)

Prep time:

5 mins

Total time:

5 mins

Serves:

2-4 servings

Quick, savory, tangy-sweet gazpacho gets an extra boost of protein and creaminess from hemp hearts.

Ingredients

• 2.5 cups heirloom tomatoes
• 1/2 cup sweet onion, chopped roughly
• 1 medium garlic clove, smashed and peeled
• 1 cup sweet red pepper, stem and seeds removed
• Handful fresh basil (Genovese or Thai varieties both work) + more for garnish
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon dried porcini, minced
• 2 tablespoons hemp hearts + more for garnish
• 1 tablespoon best quality extra virgin olive oil + more for garnish
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper, ground
• 1 teaspoon coarse Celtic sea salt

Instructions

1. In the bowl of a high powered blender, combine the heirloom tomatoes, sweet onion, garlic, red pepper, basil, balsamic vinegar, porcini, hemp hearts, olive oil, pepper and sea salt.
2. Blend on high until smooth.
3. Serve immediately or chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Serve within an hour or two of prep.
4. To serve, pour into 2-4 glasses or small bowls. Top with a drizzle of olive oil, a sprinkle of hemp hearts, and some basil leaves.
5. Sip or spoon the soup as you like. Enjoy!

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