Roasted Cauliflower & Chickpea Soup...with a dash of joy calling your name!

What if joy comes when you’re living out your calling? Really, that’s a deeper point to ponder than what it seems. We need to look behind its reflection and into the essence of what it’s really asking.

Let's start scratching the surface... And I suppose it starts with whether we hear any call at all or if we have truly considered our heart desires. If you're anything like me, we all just want a quiet confidence, a sense of contentment, a meaningful purpose and an unshakeable peace even when our world’s falling to pieces. Sure, ‘happy’ sounds nice from time to time. But happiness just isn’t enough. I’d trade instant elation for an inner sense of JOY anytime.

So what’s it worth to you? I mean, trading instant gratification for inner gladness?

Let's dig a little deeper. Someplace in the depths of our souls, when our heart beats line up with the Lord's pulse, we hear His call and our desires draw us into His will. And I'm wondering if that's where real joy resides, where we receive our quiet confidence.

To me, I'd trade just about anything for that abiding kind of Jesus-joy. It’s the kind characterized by Christ’s life, total surrender to a Savior, wisdom to walk the way of the Word and courage to quietly and gladly carry any burden in the name of the Cross.

This joy possesses an essence of action. Because knowledge only gets us so far. In fact, knowledge without action equals ignorance….or at minimum, complacency. And who really wants to be known as complacent?

During a recent devotion with my little girls (who really aren’t so small anymore…), we pondered the essesence of wisdom. The devotion described wisdom is ACTING on God’s will because we know what’s right in His eyes. Wisdom is CHOOSING to do what we know to be Biblically right and true.

So if joy comes when we’re living out our calling, I suppose an action oriented WIDSOM walks us right down the path to JOY.

And that brings me right back to my question: ‘What if joy comes when you’re living your calling?’. Because if we are listening for Him, asking for His wisdom and acting on His will all the sudden our lives feel like they fit! It feels like what we’re doing is suited for the life we’ve been given, like we belong in our own skin and our bodies carry out the calling we were created for. THAT. FEELS. LIKE. JOY.

Even when times are tough, when we’re walking with Him down the path He’s purposed us for, we remain confident and content. Think about it: we’ve surrendered to Him, our actions flow from faith and all the while, He’s holding our hands. That sounds like the place to be to me! Where quiet confidence comes from our determined CHOICE to follow His call and it’s the unwavering assurance that He’s in control of it all so, no matter what, we can PRAISE HIM! That feels like joy!

So, let’s take the next baby step and start thinking about our quest towards Christ’s joy as a calling on our lives starting with listening for Him. Today ask Him how to use your time, what He wants from you, what words you should use and what actions to choose. It may be as simple as teaching your children a verse or giving your ear to someone who needs listening. But it may be a ministry or a mission that He’s been placing on your heart. It could be anything. How will you know if you never ask?

Today take the next step on our journey to joy and ask Him where He’s calling you.

And, of course, since I almost always find joy in my kitchen…since homemade, nourishing food is a form of love from me, I often seek Him in recipes. This comforting, creamy cauliflower soup speaks quiet confidence and tasty contentment in each sip. And, just like Jesus does, it called me back for more because we can never get enough real nourishment, body or soul.

Ingredients

1 large head of cauliflower cut into florets
1 medium mild onion (I used yellow), chopped
5 cloves fresh garlic, minced
2 cups chickpeas soaked or 2 cans, drained and rinsed (*see note)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons ghee or grassfed butter
1 teaspoon salt, Celtic Sea salt preferably
½ to 1 teaspoon cumin, depending on how much you like the flavor
½ to 1 teaspoon black pepper to taste
1 can organic coconut milk
3 cups vegetable stock/broth
2 sprigs of fresh thyme
OPTIONAL: Roasted Chickpeas as croutons (see notes for recipe)

Recipe Instructions

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. You will need a food processor, an immersion blender or a high powered blender.
In a large bowl, toss cauliflower and 2 cups chickpeas, cumin, salt and pepper with olive oil
Roast in oven for 40 minutes or until the edges of the cauliflower looks golden and toasted but not burnt.
If you are also making the roasted chickpeas to use as croutons, please use a seperate pan and follow directions in the recipes in the notes section.
In your soup kettle on th estove, saute the onion and garlic in the ghee or butter.
Add the coconut milk and vegetable stock to the pan, heat and stir to combine.
Stir in the fresh thyme.
Once the cauliflower and chickpeas are out of the oven, allow them to cool a bit so they are easier to handle.
Pour the ingredients from the oven and the stovetop into your food processor. Or if you are using an immersion blender put it all into the soup kettle. Process or blend until smooth. You may salt and pepper to taste.
Serve hot and garnish with chickpeas if you'd like.

Recipe Notes

*You will use 2 cups of chickpeas to roast and puree with the cauliflower. I also roasted more to use as croutons. So, the recipe calls for fewer than what you see pictured here.

Here's a recipe for the roasted chickpeas I used for croutons. They also make a perfect munching snack, which is why I made lots extra!

Roasted Chickpeas