“Good soup is one of the prime ingredients of good living. For soup can do more to lift the spirits and stimulate the appetite than any other one dish.” — Louis P. DeGouy
Soup.
It is one of my favorite meals. I love the simplicity of the word, of the ingredients in a bowl with a slab of bread, butter, and a salad. I ignore the mess that got it there — the pans in the sink, on the stove, the list of ingredients, the cutting board and knife. Because it’s all comfort when I’m spooning it in.
Last night, we had one of my favorite soups. It’s an Italian soup my friend Tracy learned to make when she was a nanny in Italy. We call it Tracy Soup. While I haven’t seen Tracy in ages, I think of her every time I make it. She brought it to me when I had my youngest son. Or maybe it was when I broke my ankle 10 months later. I can’t remember the details, the messy parts of life that led her to bring me the soup. I just remember the soup. The love and comfort.
I made three pots yesterday: A veggie version for Noah, a chicken-broth version for us, and another for a family at church whose 8-year-old daughter is going through chemo for Hodgkins lymphoma.
It was an insane day. In addition to a crazy number of deadlines, between 3:30 and 7:30 pm I had to pick up Sawyer, run a friend’s daughter home, pick up Noah, take him to interview an architect friend of ours for a school project, rush back home to get the meal ready for delivery, take Sawyer to guitar, deliver the meal, lead the missions meeting at church, and let someone from Noah’s school interview me. When I was frantically making the meal that afternoon, my thoughts kept going back to Tracy and the many good friends I’ve had like her through the years. And to Piper, the little girl fighting every day in ways most of us will never know.
And I slowed down. Every onion I cut, every clove of garlic I minced, the beans I rinsed, the parsley I diced … it was all meant to nourish somebody — Piper’s family or mine on this particular evening. Piper’s mom told me that while it’s weird to take so much help from friends — to be on the receiving end of our church’s care corps instead of the providing in — she sure does rely on it during these tough chemo weeks. And she should. I happily left the meal on their porch in a Hannah Montana cooler friends decorated for just this purpose.
Several years ago, I had such love delivered to my porch when I had a much less dramatic need. That morning on the way to church, I got caught in marathon traffic (I still annually curse the White Rock Marathon for this very reason). Noah, who was about 8 at the time, had his first solo. I walked in on the last note and burst into tears. Another friend named Tracy sat in the choir and got a full view of my meltdown. That evening, on my porch sat a chocolate raspberry linzertorte and a sweet note.
Regardless what life throws at us, it’s good to know we have friends who will hide all the mess — if just for a moment — and leave us with a warm bowl of soup or a beautiful linzertorte on the porch. Sometimes we’re on the receiving end, sometimes the giving end. Either way, it’s simple comfort. One of my favorite meals.
Dawn, I never cease to be amazed at the way your words can make moments so real, and recognize so completely the way we are all connected. Great stuff. And the soup is awesome too!
This post was better than a big, bubbling cauldron of comfort waiting on my porch this morning. Thanks, lady.
Dawn, you are simply amazing in every way!! Thank you for the love and support (and the nourishment for our tummies
Jill’s Darn Good Kale Soup
One large bunch kale torn from stem
One medium onion chopped
One medium russet potato cubed
One medium sweet potato cubed
One or two large carrots diced rounds
One or two tablespoons garlic
28 oz. can crushed tomatoes with basil
4 cups organic vegetable broth
One can canelli beans (white beans)
Two cups Morning Star Grillers Crumbles
One tablespoon olive oil
Salt/pepper/Mrs. Dash to taste
Fresh basil & orgeno if you have it handy
Saute onion and garlic for a few minutes then add kale a bit at a time until it is all wilted. Cube and roast (@400 degrees) the carrots, sweet potatoes, potates, and carrots in a little olive oil until browned. Put them into crockpot or ductch oven on the stove. Add tomatoes and vegetable broth. Add in the kale mixture and seasonings. Cook all day or until potatoes are soft. In the last hour or two add the Griller crumbles and canelli beans. I had to put my on the stove and boil it for about 45 minutes after it had been in a crockpot on low for 4 hours. I’ll bet all day on high would do it though, or you could microwave the potatoes and carrots before putting them in and probably be finished even sooner. Of course, it all tastes better and becomes stewier the next day. Enjoy!
Yum. Adding that to my menu next week!
[...] both kids and taking them to their activities this afternoon. Making my favorite Italian soup (aka, “Tracy soup”) for my favorite 9-year-old cancer patient and her family. (OK, she’s the only 9-year-0ld [...]