There is a popular affirmation book: "Chicken Soup for the Soul", but my husband makes the real chicken soup for the soul. His chicken soup takes you to a place of warmth and serenity much more quickly than a mass produced, over-hyped, trite tome.
I will try to describe this remarkable bowl of happiness even though words don't come close to how it feels deep inside when you take your first, hot, aromatic spoonful.
This beloved man creates magic as he's chopping, tasting and adding herbs and spices into the bubbling soup pot. There is no recipe, it just comes from divine culinary instinct as to what would be best for this particular batch.
Your spoon drops into the steaming bowl and comes out with pieces of grilled chicken, bok choy, carrot, maybe some tiny pasta and the golden, savory broth. The broth is the cradle that rocks this bowl of soup. Sometimes there's a hint of clove, sometimes a touch of parsnip but there is always satisfaction.
The biggest ingredient is John's love of creating this soup from scratch. His face lights up when decides to go to the Chinese market to get the chicken parts and vegetables. He comes home, puts on John Coltrane or Miles Davis and gets to work on his own piece of art, chopping and stirring, adding and tasting.
Every single bowl from beginning to end of the batch is delicious. More than that, it's a quiet place to go in your mind while it warms you through and through and all distressing thoughts vanish as you savor this soul soup.
One day, I'll write about his Caesar Salad.
P.S. As soon as I figure out how to load up pictures, you'll see a steaming bowl of soup!
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