Homemade Soup

The business day done, meeting the demands of the work environment put to rest one more time, driving through some weather the couple miles to my home, and just wanting to warm up and relax. No hassle with fixing something for dinner, I'm just calling the family to the table and serving up some homemade chicken noodle soup prepared earlier this morning. Chicken chunks, softened celery, colorful carrots, thick noodles, classic? Oh but wait, what is the seasoning added this time? 

My family has accepted that every Crock-Pot of my homemade soup is unique. I could never be a professional chef because even when I attempt to duplicate the recipe, the end product is not quite the same. And most of the time, the bowl placed in front of my family is enjoyable, except of course when it is not. Because you see, I learned how to cook from my step-father. I think of him now, almost 10 years since his passing, and wonder if he ever had any training as a chef or just in business management. Dennis taught me how to cook, not in our home as much as in his restaurants that I began working as a young girl. Anyway, he taught me that a recipe is a guide and once you learned the basic recipe, taste and experiment to add your signature. I learned all sorts of things from Dennis preparing foods for his cold and hot buffet, grill, and doing everything else involved in the business. And today, my go to meal for the family as a working mom is the homemade soup. 

I create soup not from a specific recipe, but from a basic concept. I use what I have available. Soup requires a good stock (homemade is the best and most nutritious but not always available), a selection of veggies, a protein source, some dairy (even in light soup a small spoon of butter), a grain (sometimes simply in the form of a good cracker or bread to add as a side), seasonings, and a sweetener to bring out the contrasting spices. I fill up the large Crock-Pot, as I don't know how to make in small quantities, (when I'm an empty nester, we best buy a smaller Crock-Pot!) Ta-da! Dinner, alongside lunch for the rest of the week, is done!

I like creating soup because there really is no right or wrong way to make it. However, I imagine some would argue with me on that belief. A soup recipe is a guide. Soup is supposed to be unique to the situation. In the spring one may enjoy a light broth based soup and in the summer a cold Gazpacho soup. Come autumn, a warm squash soup may be desired or in winter a hearty, thick, creamy soup hits the spot. The key to good soup --- diversity. We all need diversity in life. Diversity keeps us healthy. Having alternate ingredients keeps us vibrant. Creativity is also an important element as through creativity we can experience 'awe.'

And if you think this post is just about making soup, read again. 

Sometimes in soup I've added ingredients for their flavor or nutritional value that have broken down to a point my kids are oblivious, like cauliflower. And then some ingredients are always going to be obvious, like tomatoes. Then I occasionally substitute ingredients for a slightly different flavor, like leeks and my kids think I've simply added large green onions. Oh, and one day my kids asked, "What is agave? What do you use this for? The bottle is almost gone."

We all have a kitchen with staple ingredients. The secret is searching for unique ingredients at the right time, knowing when to risk adding something different or unknown, keeping staples close at hand for stability, and knowing it is okay to be spontaneous. Creating homemade soup and sharing it with others is my gift to my family and friends.