Soup

If you were to walk into our kitchen the other evening it may have looked like a war-zone.  Piles of pots were scattered about, splatters on the counter, and diced vegetables littered the floor.  A battle had been wages and a victory was won—Alex had made soup from scratch for the first time.  (I’m not sure what it says about my cooking that I always seem to use war or battle analogy to describe my activities in the kitchen).   Since it was a cool October evening, and since it snowed that day, I decided that it was soup season.

 

I pulled out a tried and true soup recipe I got from my former roommate Jules.  I had watched Jules make cheesy chicken chowder a few times (or at least has seen the aftermath) but the finished product was so delightful I decided to try to make it on my own.  I started by slicing the veggies.  I peeled 4 potatoes and then realized that 4 potatoes was twice as many as I needed so I decided to double the recipe since the potatoes were already peeled.  I was using my food chopper to dice up carrots when the bottom fell off and diced carrots exploded all over the counter and floor.  The carrots also have a tendency to jam the spring loaded food chopper and I am always leery to stick my fingers in to pull out the offending chunk of carrots. 

I pulled out my large stock pot for its maiden voyage and simmer all the veggies.  I then dove into the next part of melting butter in another pot.  I started adding the flour as the recipe called for.  All of a sudden it switched from a liquid to a solid mass.  My first thought was “crud”.  Soup is supposed to be liquid not lumpy.  My next thought was “I should probably try a recipe once before deciding to make a double batch in case I botch something.”  I plowed forward however.  My philosophy is more keep going and see what happens.  So I did.  Next I added the milk which helped my floury mass turn back into a liquid.  I kept stirring and stirring and it became thicker, definitely more promising.

 

Then I realized what I had done.  I had made my first white sauce without realizing it.  I started mixing cheese and voila a cheese sauce.  It looked so rich and creamy.  I added the cheese sauce to the simmering vegetables and beheld my pot full of hardy soup.  I then called my mother to proclaim my excitement about white sauces and to share my joy about my accomplishment—I was giddy.  We have several containers of soup in our freezer ready to be enjoyed on a cool winter’s eve.  I feel like a squirrel gathering nuts and preparing for winter.  Omni Vincit Amor.