Finally, a Winter Wonderland

As I slept, the snow silently, slowly settled upon the earth, trees, houses.  Upon waking, the landscape was, finally transformed into what it should be in Northeast Ohio this time of year...a winter wonderland. Truly beautiful, the boughs of the pines surrounding my apartment drooped with the shear weight of the wet, white snow.  Delightfully sticky, it hung like Spanish moss from the boughs, rested in the crooks of the tree branches, ran along the tree limbs piling upon itself like clouds on the horizon before a storm. 

I knew that I was not going out today and it definitely felt like a soup day.  Alone, I craved the comfort that a warm, long simmering soup brings. After taking stock of my larder, I came up with this soup recipe.  The secret to a good soup is creativity. Like writing a story or a poem, it starts with a basic idea and only gets better the more of you that goes into it. 

I pulled out my favorite cookbook, More with Less by Doris Janzen Longacre, (I think, the cover has long since fallen off, it has been much loved) and turned to a favorite recipe.  The premise of the cookbook which came from, I believe, Mennonite Missionaries, is that we all can be healthy and well fed using less of the world's resources.  My love of this book sprung from its simplicity, use of available food sources, protein combining and vegetarian recipes.  it had always been my highest desire to live a life like this; one which had more but used less. Not frugal necessarily but kind, not using more than I need to feel abundant, filling it with love, adventures and memories rather than stuff.  At my best, at times my life has not looked like that. Convincing my children and ex to try lentil anything was kind of a joke.  Imagine the chuckling, now that some of my kids not only eat lentils but hold to similar lifestyle choices.  

So, back to the soup.  Amongst the burnt and torn pages is a marvelous recipe for Leek soup, called Buzz and Don's Leek soup. (pg 206) But I had so much more more  in my refrigerator and in my head that I felt I could do with this basic recipe.

I have been making chicken stock all winter, so first out of the freezer was 16 oz of chicken stock.  Then came, old potatoes, onions, garlic, dried parsley and a pinch of dill (all lovingly raised by my daughter, Mary from Sun and Moon farm in Indiana), the last sweet potato, hoarded from November from Cooley' Family farm in Indiana, was chopped and thrown into the pot. Finally, wrinkled mushrooms and past its prime spinach were chopped and thrown into the mix, hopefully, re-hydrating themselves back to life. 

The cabinets yielded herbs I'd grown at my home which I moved from last April, dried in the Sun room, preserving summer as they hung from the mantel. Thyme, a pinch of Basil, Savory, Rosemary and a bit of Cinnamon. Red Pepper flakes added spice to the mix, created some controversy.  Finally, adding some salt and ground pepper, I put the lid on to let it simmer.  Ah, the smells....to die for....

There is nothing like the happy, bubbling sounds and smells of a kitchen filled with soup.  I had hoped to pull out the easy does it Jiffy Cornbread mix but it was not to be...I'd used them all.  A popular pinning site proved to be a fabulous resource and I soon found a recipe for an Apple Muffin that looked delish.  Into a bowl went some of my aging Spelt & Whole Wheat flour, a couple of pruney-looking apples past their prime and yummy spices. I wish now I'd thrown in the last little handful of walnuts given to me by a friend.

In the cold, of winter, when being alone weighs on you like a wet blanket, eating a communal soup made from ingredients given to you by much loved family and friends is much like viewing a photo album of memories.  I remember picking this dill.  I remember stopping by and chatting with Cooley when I bought that sweet potato.  My herbs made the house smell so good.  Eight years of summer's night memories of watering, weeding, dirt and flowers flow upon me as the warmth of the healthy soup moves down my throat.  Life, love, transitions, health, making do, growth and change all in a bowl of soup and an apple muffin.  Makes me feel really loved and grateful for everything. 

***** I'm trying something new....adult coloring!!! If you'd like to try it too, I'm including a pencil sketch of one of my winter photos.  Feel free to copy and paste it, only...All my  photos and words are copywrote, written, writed? so enjoy this one to use for your own personal enjoyment.  Tell me what you think, do you want more coloring pages?!