More About Soup

Did I mention that one of the really terrific things about making a pot of soup for dinner (besides getting to eat crusty bread with it), is that you then have leftovers? Which make for a really easy, healthy, yummy, hassle-free lunch? This is a very important thing when you are spending your November & December basically at home, writing. (Well, and doing some tutoring, and working on craft projects, and, you know, other things that are not writing, but do not involve going to an office, either.) Regardless of what you’re doing (or not doing) at home, leftover soup is great for lunch, because you’ll find yourself being hungry, but not wanting to make anything, or having to worry about too much cleanup, and you’ll go to your fridge and –voila!– there is your leftover soup just waiting for you.

Last night I made a yummy batch (which I had for lunch today) from an adorable little soup recipe book given to me by my sister. (Souplove, by Rebecca Stevens; Oakland, CA: 1984 Printing, 1994)

Ginger Yam* Soup

1 onion, sliced
4 ribs celery, cut into 1″ chunks
3-5 coins ginger
1/4 c. olive oil
1 Tbsp curry powder
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
cayenne to taste
4 yams (2#), peeled and cut into 1″ cubes
7 cups water**

1. In a large stock pot, combine onion, celery, ginger, olive oil, curry powder, 1 tsp salt, and cayenne. Cook covered over low heat until vegetables are soft.

2. Raise heat to medium-high and add yams and water.

3. Simmer until yams are tender.

4. Skim off any foam that forms on the surface of the soup.

5. Puree in a blender until smooth. Adjust seasoning with salt and cayenne.

* I used sweet potatoes, actually.

** And here I used vegetable stock.***

***  A note about vegetable stock. It is very easy to make your own. Basically, you save up all the odds & ends, skins and leaves, from whatever other vegetables you’ve been cutting up, and then when you have enough, throw it all in a big pot and cover with enough water. Then you bring the whole thing to a boil, lower the heat, and let it all simmer for . . . oh, about 30 minutes or so, maybe more. (I’m sure there are rules about this, but this is how I do it. I have a big bag in my freezer that I just throw cauliflower ends, squash peels & whatever into, and eventually I use it for stock.) It’s easy to freeze and have on hand whenever you want to make soup.

Songs In My Head Upon Waking In the Last Week:

DIDN’T WRITE IT DOWN; “Sky Fits Heaven,” by Madonna; “Only the Good Die Young,” by Billy Joel; “Feed the Tree,” by Belly; “Pride (In the Name of Love),” by U2; “Candy,” by Iggy Pop (with Kate Pierson); “Teenage Dream,” by Katy Perry