Green Goddess Soup

October. The light is going. Six hours less daylight than August, and every lost minute is a weight on my shoulders — seasonal affective disorder on top of the PTSD on top of the medication on top of the long-distance relationship, the stack of things I carry getting taller as the days get shorter. Dr. Reeves adjusted my light therapy schedule. I sit in front of the SAD lamp for thirty minutes every morning while I drink coffee and read, the artificial light trying to convince my brain that the sun is up even when Alaska has decided otherwise.

The ER is busy in October. Hunting accidents — rifle wounds, falls from tree stands, hypothermia from hunters who underestimated the cold. Domestic violence spikes as the darkness settles in. The mental health crises increase. Alaska has the highest suicide rate in the country, and the darkness is part of why — the relentless, crushing, existential darkness that makes you forget the sun exists, that makes your brain chemistry rebel against the schedule your latitude demands. I know this darkness personally. I respect it. I prepare for it the way Joseph prepares for crab season — checking equipment, reinforcing structures, knowing that the storm is coming and survival depends on preparation.

I made pinakbet — a vegetable stew from the Ilocos region, bitter melon and eggplant and squash and okra cooked with bagoong (shrimp paste). Lourdes makes pinakbet in October because the last of the summer vegetables need using and because the bitterness of the ampalaya (bitter melon) is, in her philosophy, good for the blood. "You need bitter sometimes," she says. "Life is not all sweet." Lourdes's culinary philosophy is indistinguishable from her life philosophy: balance, endurance, the willingness to eat something bitter because the bitterness is medicine.

The pinakbet was intensely bitter — the ampalaya uncompromising, the bagoong adding its fermented depth. I ate it with rice, the way you eat all Filipino food, the rice softening the bitterness, the contrast making both better. Not everything needs to be sweet. Not everything needs to be easy. Some weeks are pinakbet weeks — bitter and necessary and better for you than the sweetness you wanted.

Jason didn't call on Sunday. He texted instead: "Long day. Too tired. Talk tomorrow." The text was fine. The text was reasonable. The text was also the first crack in the routine, the first deviation from the Sunday-night-call pattern that has been holding us together across three hundred sixty miles. One missed call doesn't mean anything. I know this. I also know that patterns break one deviation at a time.

Lourdes’s pinakbet is the recipe I reach for when October closes in — but when I wanted something that honored that same green, grounding, slightly bitter philosophy without the bagoong I didn’t have on hand, this Green Goddess Soup became my answer. It carries the same spirit: heavy on vegetables, unapologetically green, the kind of bowl that feels like preparation rather than indulgence, which is exactly what I needed on a week when I was checking my own emotional equipment the way Joseph checks his gear before crab season.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 30 min | Total Time: 45 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 medium zucchini, chopped
2 cups fresh or frozen peas
3 cups fresh spinach, packed
1 cup fresh parsley leaves
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
4 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk or heavy cream
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

Instructions

Sauté aromatics. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 6–8 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more until fragrant.
Add vegetables and broth. Add zucchini and peas to the pot and stir to combine. Pour in vegetable broth and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 12–15 minutes until zucchini is fully tender.
Add the greens. Stir in spinach, parsley, and basil. Cook just until wilted, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly before blending.
Blend until smooth. Using an immersion blender directly in the pot (or working in batches with a standard blender), blend the soup until completely smooth and vibrant green.
Finish and season. Return pot to low heat if needed. Stir in coconut milk (or cream) and lemon juice. Season with salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes. Taste and adjust seasoning — the soup should be bright, green, and just slightly sharp from the lemon.
Serve. Ladle into bowls. Drizzle with a little extra olive oil and top with a few fresh herb leaves or a swirl of coconut milk if desired. Serve hot with crusty bread or alongside rice.

Nutrition (per serving)

Green Goddess Soup — When the Bitter Days Call for Something Green and Grounding