Liquid gold, Berkeley sidewalk
It’s been unusually cold in Berkeley, and I’ve been battling a drawn-out sinus and ear infection. Together, these have got me craving soup.
These days, my favorite soup to eat when I’m sick is wor won ton soup from the Chinese restaurant, mostly because someone else made it.
I buy it in containers of three if Mikhail is out of town for the week, and I eat it day in and day out.
Sinus infection still life
But soup is one of my favorite things to cook, too.
Soup is efficient. You can pile in the vegetables, including the ones bought with good intentions but neglected.
Soup is forgiving. You can put a vegetarian soup outside on your deck overnight if there’s no room in the fridge, and, after you’ve boiled it the next day, it tastes even better.
Soup doesn’t mind if you have to stop in the middle and change a dirty diaper, then realize that you have to do laundry, then remember that the plants haven’t been watered in two weeks.
Soup is patient. Turn it down to a low simmer, and it’ll hang out on your stove all day, through temper tantrums and spontaneous leg-hugs.
Of course, my kids don’t eat soup. Emry will eat some bites if you feed him. Elan won’t even look at something with so many ingredients. And despite how cold it is, neither of them want anything to do with hot food. Lukewarm is their speed.
Baby, it’s cold outside
Thankfully, my husband likes soup. And he doesn’t mind eating the same thing for dinner three nights in a row. We’re not particularly gourmet around here these days. More just grateful and happy to have something hot and homemade, and if it’s tasty and healthy, even better.
But the best thing about soup? It makes the house smell like a Mama’s been there. And then you realize that you’re the Mama, and you feel good.
My two favorite soup recipes, both from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone:
Winter Squash Soup with Fried Sage Leaves – I use butternut squash for this simple recipe, which turns out more flavorful than you’d guess. This soup often tastes like it has cream in it even without. Things I like to sometimes add: a can of coconut milk, ginger, a pat of butter. I have an immersion blender, which makes it a snap to turn this from a chunky soup into a smooth, creamy soup.
Lentil Minestrone Soup – Another recipe that seems so simple, you wonder where the flavor will come from, but it sure does appear, especially on the second day (even better on the third, fourth…)
