Cook Up a Cure to the Winter Blues

Joanna Bailey

Director
Neill Public Library

I have a confession to make.  I hate winter.  Winter brings bitter cold, freezing rain, treacherous ice and mountains of artic snow.   With fewer hours of sunlight, my days begin and end in a shroud of darkness.  However, there is one thing about winter which I do appreciate.  The best antidote to the bracing cold weather and long hours of darkness is a bowl of steaming hot soup.  I make more soup in the winter than any other time of the year.  Soup warms your soul and heals your body.  Generations of wise parents knew this when they fed their children bowl after bowl of chicken soup when they were sick.

Born from a liquid base of water or broth, soup rehydrates our bodies in a nutrient dense way. Soup is versatile and forgiving and it’s one of the most budget friendly dishes out there as it can be made from scraps of anything and quickly expands in volume.  Leftover vegetables and scraps of meat make great soup.  If you’re feeling really adventurous throw in your dinner leftovers from earlier in the week, say a half-eaten cheeseburger (complete with pickles and mustard), a couple of fries, and few slices of stale pizza into your broth and build your concoction from there. You can adjust the seasoning as you go.  If it’s too salty or spicy, throw in a potato or two and you’ll be back on track.  If it’s too thick, add water or more broth.  Making soup sets my creativity loose.  And yes, I can tell you from experience, that cheeseburger fry pizza soup actually does taste really good.

Soup brings people together. Throw a soup party! Rally your favorite people and ask each person to bring one mystery soup ingredient. Then, enjoy the surprise bounty as you build your creation together and enjoy the fruits of your shared labor.  If you’re a fan of author Marcia Brown, throw in a few stones for good measure (wash first) and call it Stone Soup.

Egyptian Red Lentil soup is my go-to recipe to warm me on the darkest coldest days of winter.  I adapted this recipe from the Global Feast Cookbook by Annice Estes.  Here it is now for your enjoyment:

Serves 6 as main dish; Preparation time:  1 hour

Ingredients:

2 cups dried red lentils

2 quarts stock (vegetable, chicken, beef)

1 medium sized onion, peeled and chopped

1 or 2 medium sized tomatoes, chopped

2 – 3 garlic cloves, diced

4 TB butter or oil of your choice

2 tsp ground cumin or to taste

1 tsp salt or to taste

Freshly ground pepper to taste

1 lemon cut into wedges

Directions:  Wash dried lentils in a large sieve or colander with small holes set under running cold water and rinse and rub the lentils until the draining water runs clear.  In a heavy 4 – 5-quart saucepan, melt butter or oil and add onions, salt and pepper.  Sauté until the onions soften.  Add garlic and cumin and cook until fragrant.  Add tomatoes and stock and bring to boil over high heat.  Reduce heat to low and simmer partially uncovered for 45 minutes or until lentils are tender.  Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking.  Serve with a lemon wedge to squeeze over the top and stir in just before eating.

Got you in the mood to cook?  Neill Public Library has several hundred cookbooks with fabulous soup recipes.  So go brave the snow, grab an armful of cookbooks and head into your kitchen.  You won’t regret it.