Sunday, January 17, 2010

Soup Weather

“Soup is the song of the hearth...  and the home.” - Louis P. De Gouy, The Soup Book (1949) 


Well into the morning, there was nothing comforting about the view through my windows. 

A gloomy gray haze had stalled and settled over the fields just beyond the naked trees.

It was a cozy-up-to-the-fire day. Alas, no fire. 

It was a curl-up-with-a-good-book-on-the-couch day. Deadlines loomed.

It was a sneak-a-lazy-nap day. Too early . . . and . . . deadlines.

OK, it was a make-some-soup day. Perfect.

Soup to nourish, to warm, to soothe and to inspire.

And apparently, soup to brighten up the day. The sun was burning through the haze and warming up the window seat before I even finished putting the pot on to simmer.

What a good feeling . . . making soup with re-purposed bits and pieces that have not yet taken up permanent residence in the back corner of the refrigerator. A week of stellar performers called out to take a bow. Culinary recycling. Virtuous cook.

And later the same day . . . a warm delicious lunch, a bright cozy corner, and one deadline met. 

Behold, the power of soup!


SOUPE DU JOUR 
A container of spaghetti sauce, with crumbles of Italian sausage and ground beef. 
A package of mixed vegetables - carrots, zucchini, cauliflower and peppers. 
Some leftover roasted potatoes from earlier in the week. 
Broken pieces of gemelli pasta from the end of a bag in the pantry. 
A can of cannelini beans. 
Garlic and onion, of course. 
A hearty dash of Italian herbs. 
All covered with splashes of end-of-the-cartons chicken broth and beef broth. 
Set to simmer over a slow flame. 
A healthy grating of parmesan cheese, just before serving.

6 comments:

cjvierow said...

LOVE the cat pillow!! And, the soup sounds good, too. :-)

Janet S said...

You're singing our song. We've already made Chicken/Barley & Split Pea!

Christine said...

Just the ticket for a rainy, cold and gray day.

CottageGirl said...

I'll just drop by and get a bowl of that soup and then sit by that window for a while ... you won't mind, will you??

Cora said...

Cottage Girl,
I've got plenty of soup and a spot for you in the window seat. Stop by anytime!

nckitkat said...

Cora, if you'll come, I will make you one of my grandmother's pots of soup (13+ quarts) and one of my great-grandmother's pound cakes!