Page One Hundred Ninety-Nine.
I recently received a text from an acquaintance. It reads: "It's almost that Chicken Soup time of year. Hope all is well". You should know that it was blizzarding outside and it was chicken soup weather if ever there was any when I received this text. But still, this is what my friends think of me: a chicken soup delivery service.
This buddy is not a close friend, but he's pleasant enough. About a year ago, he was reminiscing to me about his long-dead mother's chicken soup. He actually did remember some of the ingredients she used. (She added turnips to her soup which is just slightly non-traditional.) So I experimented and a few weeks later when I knew I would see this fellow again, I brought him a quart of what I thought would remind him of dear old Mom's. He loved it. Ever since, he's been bringing it up. I'm glad that I was able to help him relive a dear memory of Mom.
It really is so easy to do for others, even if it's little things. (Though nobody will ever convince me that making chicken soup from scratch is little.)
Showing posts with label Chicken Soup. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chicken Soup. Show all posts
Sunday, March 16, 2014
Monday, February 25, 2013
Matzo Ball Soup - The Secret
Page Forty-One.
Soon after moving in with the Van Myms, in '82, I was rummaging through Amanda's spice cabinet. I picked up a bottle labeled "Cardamom" and smelled it, never having heard of it before. I thought it smelled like chicken soup. Amanda explained that cardamom is used primarily in central Asian cuisine and Scandinavian desserts of all things. But she did have to admit that I was right, though she'd never noticed it before; cardamom smells like good chicken soup.
I'd learned to make Matzo Ball soup by that point: buy the box and follow the directions. But I decided to doctor it up with cardamom the following Passover. It was really good! I've been adding it to my Matzo Ball soup ever since and also add just a pinch to my real chicken soup. People enjoy it tremendously.
A couple of weeks ago, a friend hosted a pop-up shop in his backyard and invited artists and craftspeople to come and sell their wares. I showed up and sold my soup. I SOLD OUT. Of course it helped that the pop-up shop was outside, here in Cleveland, on February 9th (30 degrees fahrenheit). Frozen people walked into the enclosure and immediately smelled my hot soup. So, of course, they bought. But still, I sold 43 pints of soup in seven hours. That's pretty good no matter what the temperature.
If you want to improve your chicken soup or make even better Matzo Ball soup, add a dash of cardamom to your broth.
Soon after moving in with the Van Myms, in '82, I was rummaging through Amanda's spice cabinet. I picked up a bottle labeled "Cardamom" and smelled it, never having heard of it before. I thought it smelled like chicken soup. Amanda explained that cardamom is used primarily in central Asian cuisine and Scandinavian desserts of all things. But she did have to admit that I was right, though she'd never noticed it before; cardamom smells like good chicken soup.
I'd learned to make Matzo Ball soup by that point: buy the box and follow the directions. But I decided to doctor it up with cardamom the following Passover. It was really good! I've been adding it to my Matzo Ball soup ever since and also add just a pinch to my real chicken soup. People enjoy it tremendously.
A couple of weeks ago, a friend hosted a pop-up shop in his backyard and invited artists and craftspeople to come and sell their wares. I showed up and sold my soup. I SOLD OUT. Of course it helped that the pop-up shop was outside, here in Cleveland, on February 9th (30 degrees fahrenheit). Frozen people walked into the enclosure and immediately smelled my hot soup. So, of course, they bought. But still, I sold 43 pints of soup in seven hours. That's pretty good no matter what the temperature.
If you want to improve your chicken soup or make even better Matzo Ball soup, add a dash of cardamom to your broth.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)