|
January 2000 COOKING WITH FRIENDS: Stone Soup As the big number rolls over, many people I know have found themselves marking the new year in a reflective way, taking a moment to think about what they value most. I know what I value - my family, and my dear friends. And when I think of the times we come together - to celebrate, to send off or welcome home, or to comfort when it's needed - I realize that at all those times we cook together. Sharing food is a blessing that is doubled when we share the preparation of it, whether it's full of tradition and ritual, or just some spontaneous fun. Long ago, when our children were small and just starting to read,
my friend Kathy Yee called me:
I came over with my two little boys. There were several families gathered, and everyone brought something for the soup. No one had been told what to bring, and no one knew what anyone else was bringing. Kathy sat the children down in a circle by the tree and read them the story of Stone Soup, about the empty pot, the stone, and how everyone helped. Then we made the soup. A round stone, pounded smooth by the ocean, went in first, just as she had said. Then, everything else. Older children cut up vegetables and threw them into the pot. Larry Yee, who is a wonderful cook, supervised and stirred. The party warmed up as the soup cooked. We tasted it. A little peculiar. It needed a pinch of this or a dollop of that, which Larry provided with a fine intuitive sense of coaxing along a soup. Then we ladled it up and ate it, with big pieces of fresh bread, and glasses of wine for the grown-ups. It was a good soup, and a good party. Over the years, the party grew. Other families were invited, and friends from the neighborhood. A table was spread with delicious appetizers and sweets in the dining room. The whole house sparkled with candles. In the middle of it all, Larry stirred his enormous pot of soup, the same stone at the bottom of it every year. The contributions became more interesting. There were always leeks and carrots and onions, but people also came with tiny ravioli, bunches of herbs, Cajun spices, bags of lentils or split peas, parsnips, winter squashes, wild mushrooms and Chinese greens. It always worked. One year someone tossed in a whole bag of barley when Larry wasn't looking; that year it was a very thick soup - but good. Sometimes the soup was vegetarian, sometimes not. When someone brought a big bag of fresh scallops, Larry looked at them with trepidation, but in they went, and it was a delicious soup. I liked to bring cilantro and peppery greens, poblano chiles or kabocha squash - things I thought someone else might not bring. Larry let me kibbitz, and stir and taste with him. What do you think it needs? Oh, I don't know, let's pour in a bottle of wine, let's sauté a whole lot of garlic. I don't think anything was ever turned away - - that would have been against the spirit of the soup. As the children grew up, the reading of the story was replaced by Christmas carols sung around the piano; the story was part of us now. And from year to year it seemed that the soup always improved. In the early years, Larry had a few things on hand for emergencies - onions, in case no one brought one, that sort of thing. This year, when Kathy asked him what he was doing about the soup, he said, "Nothing. I'm just going to let it happen. It'll be great." We all know that the best cooking is done without recipes, but the non-recipe that evolved for this soup would go something like this: STONE SOUP Start with a dozen good friends. At least half of them should have small children. Bring them to a house where they are made welcome, in a spirit of good fun, and with the intention of cooking together. Everyone must bring something to put into the pot. Now bring them back year after year, and add more friends to taste. Keep stirring the soup. Drink some wine together. Sing. By the time the toddlers are teenagers, the soup will be perfect.
It will re-create itself with ease each time this group gathers again in
friendship and celebration.
I hope you all have a great year, and many wonderful times cooking with your family and your friends. For January I'm passing along a recipe (see New Recipes) that was sent to me by one of the visitors to this site, Toby Sonneman. Parsley Soup is a variation on the Green Soup formula, which was the very first recipe posted here and probably still the most popular. This one is an unusual and delicious way to get over a hangover, start a diet, nurse a cold, or just have a nice supper. Happy 2000! |