friday feast: absolutely NO soup for you, a recipe, and a giveaway!

February 11, 2011November 13, 2017 ~ jama ~ 1 Comment

So, are you drooling over this beautiful bowl of lentil soup with fresh berries on the side?

Well, drool is all you’re gonna do, because today, there will absolutely, positively be NO SOUP FOR YOU!

That’s right. No slurping or sipping or swallowing or anything else. I realize it goes counter to everything I stand for around here, but today’s a special day and I’m making an exception.

Bouillabaisse by Zen Chef/flickr.

Remember last week’s cookie fest with Mr. Dumpty? Diane Lockward, the fabulous poet who created that scrumptious poem, has graciously granted me permission to post yet another delectable delight from her latest book, Temptation by Water. What could be better than melt-in-your-mouth cookies, you ask? Soup, of course!

Mulligatawny by anjuli_ayer/flickr.

I swear I’ve never actually met Diane, but it certainly seems she’s writing many of her poems just for me ☺. Recently, I asked her about the genesis of and writing process behind today’s poem, “‘No Soup for You!'” I learned that she loves soup and has a bowl for lunch almost every day throughout the year — and, *wait for it*, her husband owns a restaurant!

*swoon*

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winter balm: soup day by melissa iwai

February 2, 2011December 7, 2017 ~ jama ~ 7 Comments

Why, hello. You’re just in time. We saved a place for you at the table.

Here we are in the depths of winter, when snow, sleet, ice, and slush are the order of the day. As we try to brave the elements, stave off cabin fever, and satisfy our color-starved cravings for something to nourish our bodies and warm our hearts, we realize the immense power and magic of SOUP!

Yes, we love soup. We want soup. We need soup NOW!

Well then, put on your bibs.

In Melissa Iwai’s Soup Day (Henry Holt, 2010) — clearly a story with my name written all over it — a little girl describes step-by-step how she and her mother make a hearty batch of soup together.

One snowy day, they set out for the Green Market, where they select the freshest vegetables with the brightest colors — celery, onions, carrots, potatoes, zucchini, mushrooms and parsley. At home, the girl helps to wash the veggies while her mom chops everything into different shapes — squares, circles, cubes, and confetti. Everything is sauteed in oil (sizzle!), and then stock is poured into the pot (sssssss!).

While the soup simmers gently on the stove, the girl and her mother pass the time playing games and reading. “Before long, our home smells like yummy soup.” Mmmmmmmmm. The mother adds some spices, and then the little girl gets to select what kind of pasta to include (from 9 different varieties). Guess what she picks? Alphabets! (I love this girl!) Once her father gets home, they all sit down and enjoy every drop of their soup together.

I love the charming simplicity of this story, and the subtle way little teaching moments are incorporated into the narrative. Hungry munchkins will be eager to help with soup-making from start to finish. The grocery store affords untold opportunities for recognizing colors, counting items and ingredients, and learning to make wise choices. Watching an adult slice veggies into various shapes is fun, too, and if old enough, a child can try cutting soft veggies like zucchini and mushrooms with a plastic knife. Of course there’s also the fun of identifying the different types of pasta (fettuccine! farfalle! rotini!).

The satisfaction and pride of eating something one has helped to prepare, as well as quality time spent together, are equally important seasonings for this nutritious, heartwarming soup. Iwai’s bright, cheerful acrylic and multi-textured collage illos clarify the process and capture all the warmth and coziness of this special soup day, where mother and daughter bond, new skills are learned, and good memories are forged.

This gentle story, perfect for preschoolers, is Melissa’s first self-illustrated title, and was inspired by her own experiences cooking with her son Jamie. It’s received glowing reviews, including a starred review from Kirkus, which praises Soup Day as “Ordinariness made extraordinary.” When the winter blues set in, or any time you need an extra dose of comfort and joy, reach for this uplifting, feel-good book. A recipe for Snowy Day Vegetable Soup (which I’m going to try very soon) is included. S – L – U – R – P ☺!

Here’s a video of Melissa making it.

SOUP DAY by Melissa Iwai
published by Henry Holt, September 2010
Fiction for ages 4-6, 32 pp.
Cool themes: Family, sharing, cooking, togetherness, mastering new skills, counting, colors, shapes, nutrition, vegetables.

♥ Be sure to visit Melissa’s official blog for more spreads and to learn about her other books. You’ll also find activity sheets, crafts, and more soup recipes! You can also learn about her process when illustrating a picture book.

♥ Don’t miss Melissa’s delicious blog, The Hungry Artist, where she shares easy, health-conscious recipes you can make with your children. Melissa is a self-taught chef, who won Cooking Light’s Ultimate Reader Recipe Grand Prize in 2010!

♥ Click here for Melissa’s guest post at Cynsations.

♥ A few blog reviews: Brimful Curiosities, Great Kid Books, Booking Mama.

♥ Quick! For a chance to win a copy of Soup Day, there’s still time to enter this contest at Val’s Kitchen (deadline: Sunday, February 6).

laura shovan gets her soup on!

April 7, 2010November 16, 2017 ~ jama ~ 1 Comment

#4 in the Poetry Potluck Series celebrating National Poetry Month 2010.

Blizzard 2010.

*shiver*

Winter of 2010, we’re so glad you’re gone. It’s hard to believe just a month ago we were buried in snow. You forced us to stay home from work, miss school, shovel our driveways for days on end, and make soup.

Oh, wait. We like that part. Soup, only you could comfort us in our darkest, coldest, snowiest hours.

When I sent out the call for recipes, I was hoping someone would bring soup. We couldn’t very well have a Poetry Potluck here without it. I’m so happy Laura Shovan came to the rescue!

Now, I’ll be totally honest. I love that she made Blizzard Soup. I’ll take soup any time. Just leave out the blizzard. But no matter how we “suffer” through harsh winters, there are good moments, too. Laura captured one in, “An Absolute Vista.” It’s a personal snapshot of a familiar world transformed. Here’s what she said about her poem and the soup:

The poem is about the 2003 blizzard we had in Maryland, when my son was six. (It’s a response to William Stafford’s poem, “With Kit, Age 7, at the Beach.”) I created the recipe for “Blizzard Soup” during the 2010 blizzards. Nothing chases away the snow in your boots like chicken soup. I like to sing Lewis Carroll’s, “Beautiful Soup!,” when I’m cooking this — it amuses me and annoys the kids.

The pear tree in Laura’s poem.

AN ABSOLUTE VISTA

Our six year old climbed a snow bank at the back door
to walk and meet his father.
The snow was deep.
White erased everything — fences, sandbox.
Ground was something to imagine.

Why would he go?
His weight was too slight
to puncture the icy crust with his boots.
Our son floated on the surface, a dark form
crawling away from the house.

Midway he stopped.
No one near but the wind, racing.

My husband left off sweeping pear branches,
strode deeply toward our child,
and lifted him off that shifting surface.
One body, they turned for home,
each step sinking to the good, solid ground.

No need to wait for a blizzard to enjoy this goodness!

BLIZZARD SOUP
(makes a full stock pot, 8 large servings)

Ingredients

6-8 cups chicken stock (homemade if you have it)
2 bay leaves
3/4-1 lb. chicken breast
Spices (chef’s choice)
2 tsp. olive oil
1 large sweet onion
4 ribs celery
6 carrots
1 can white beans
1 can diced tomato
3-4 cups fresh spinach, loosely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup to 1 cup white wine

Cut the chicken into small dice chunks. Season with your favorite spice mix (we used “Montreal Rub” and cumin), then sauté in the olive oil. While sautéing, put 1 cup of the stock in a large soup pot. Small dice the onion, celery and carrots. Add them to the stock and cook just above a simmer until soft. Drain the chicken pieces and add them to the pot with enough stock to cover. While bringing to a boil, add the beans (Iiquid strained), bay leaves, tomato. Add the spinach, remaining stock and wine. Bring to a full boil, then simmer for 45 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.

Good topped with shredded cheese!

Nom nom nom . . .
————————————————————-

Laura Shovan (“Mrs. Poems”) is an educator, author, and poet from Howard County, Maryland. She conducts poetry workshops in schools for the Maryland State Arts Council, freelances for several Baltimore publications, and is currently writing a young adult novel about a student newspaper. She’s been active in the Geraldine R. Dodge’s Poetry Foundation Program, and her poems have appeared in a number of literary journals. Most recently, her chapbook, Mountain, Log, Salt and Stone, was awarded the Clarinda Harriss Poetry Prize. For National Poetry Month, she’s doing a special series at her blog, AuthorAmok. She’s going on a “Poetry Road Trip” to all 50 states to check out their poet laureates! I also like that she knows her way around Sherwood Forest (ask her about it sometime).

mulligatawny, anyone?

January 13, 2010November 20, 2017 ~ jama ~ 25 Comments

Mulligatawny: An East Indian soup having a meat or chicken base and curry seasoning.

It all started because I wanted to try a new recipe for National Soup Month. Of course, I thought of this (that’s Larry Thomas as the Soup Nazi):

Kramer is my favorite Seinfield character, and the Soup Nazi’s Indian Mulligatawny was his favorite soup. He called the man a “soup artisan,” “a genius.” It was because of Kramer that Elaine, George, and Jerry checked out that little soup place to begin with. Of course I wanted to make some. Had the real Soup Nazi, Al Yeganeh, put out a cookbook? No such luck.

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friday feast: alice and arlo

December 4, 2009October 22, 2017 ~ jama ~ 68 Comments

“Don’t be intimidated by foreign cookery. Tomatoes and oregano make it Italian; wine and tarragon make it French. Sour cream makes it Russian; lemon and cinnamon make it Greek. Soy sauce makes it Chinese; garlic makes it good.” ~ Alice May Brock

*Photo of Alice by Howell Conant, Source: NPR.org.*

During the holidays, I like listening to Arlo Guthrie’s “Alice’s Restaurant Massacree.”

The “Thanksgiving dinner that couldn’t be beat” makes me happy, along with Officer Obie, the Group W bench, and of course, those “twenty-seven eight-by-ten colour glossy photographs with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one explaining what each one was to be used as evidence against us.”

Dang fine example of the talkin’ blues, a classic 60’s counterculture, anti-war/anti-draft satirical ballad that still rings true 42 years after its release. I’ve been lucky enough to hear Arlo sing it in person a couple of times, and admit to having a crush on him when I was sixteen. Sigh. I wore out the A-Side of my album (some of the best 18-minute interludes I’ve ever had). When the movie came out with Arlo starring in it, I really really wanted to become a hippie, celebrate Thanksgiving with all those people, and help dump the garbage.

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