I made soup this week.
You see, Samhain has just passed – okay, you probably think of it as Hallowe’en, but those of us with Celtic blood think of it as a liminal time – a time of thresholds, the beginning of the darker half of the year. My ancestors used to light bonfires to protect and cleanse, to push back the shadows. They slaughtered their herds in preparation for the long, cold winter.
In my tiny, suburban life, I light candles. And I make soup.
I’ve always been better at “fall back” than I have at “spring forward.” Something deep within me starts to unwind in the fall. Summer is so fast and fertile, so hot and bright. Autumn, particularly the late part of autumn, as we slide towards winter, is such a relief to me.
I crave slow and quiet, warmth and comfort. Hence the soup.
Soup making is actually a form of alchemy when you think about it – bones and onions and carrots and water and herbs, by themselves inert and unremarkable, but with time, heat and a well-worn Dutch oven, they become something transcendent and luxurious and life-restoring.
For me, making soup is almost like a spiritual practice and I do it slowly, deliberately.
Usually, there is music (lately, it’s Bach’s French Suites) or sometimes The Archers Omnibus and I putter about the kitchen, chopping, sautéing, simmering. Slowly assembling it all, savouring the experience of cooking, anticipating the goodness that will be created.
Marvelling at the sheer ordinariness of the day.
A day without chemo or illness or pain. A day when you walk around on your two strong legs and feel the November wind on your face. A day when the car starts and you go to your job and pay your bills and eat a meal with the people you share your life with.
An ordinary day.
So precious.
P.
P.S. What does your ordinary day look like?
My day is exactly how you describe it with one exception. Wine, yes, copious amounts of wine starting at 4pm every day. Certainly not before that special 4o’clock hour. After all, I’m not an alcoholic. Not yet anyways.
Enjoy the soup but for God sake Patti, don’t omit the wine.
I knew I’d forgotten something! Thanks for pointing it out – I will do better!
Frequently, the conundrum of the day is what to make for dinner, or if I’m in a planning mood, what to eat for dinner on a day AFTER today. What to buy, what to freeze or thaw, what to brine, can I sous vide or crock pot, how long since we’ve ordered chinese food, what leftovers are leftover.
And now you’ve gone and brought Noble Pig Sausage Tortellini Soup to the top of the queue so I’ve been thinking all through this comment what kind of sausage I have at home.
Thanks,
Mike
LOL – what to eat for dinner the day AFTER today…finally, someone who thinks like me! Priorities!
It does not surprise me that you and I have the same interior dialogue (what to buy, what to thaw, etc) as we are most likely Irish twins, separated at birth. 😉
I can’t wait to hear about the Noble Pig Sausage Tortellini Soup…
Mixing your metaphors there. Not possible to separate Irish twins at birth due to not sharing birthdays.
I followed through on the soup, made a double batch Saturday, leftovers for this week.
Lots of other prep work this weekend, shouldn’t need much groceries through our impending Thanksgiving next week.
Our turkey will be bought and begin is brine bath Saturday, I’m even using the big cooler to brine a friends bird at the same time.