I suppose I’m feeling sentimental because my mom visited me this past weekend.  She’s on her way home now, maybe flying over the mountains of Pennsylvania, or crossing that just-big-enough-that-you-might-mistake-it-for-an-ocean Great Lake Michigan.  She lives outside of Chicago where the family grew up and I, as regular readers surely know, live in Big Bad New York City.  The flight is only a touch over 2 hours but boy does it just feel like a long way home sometimes.

Mom flew in for just the weekend under the general premise that it’s her 59th birthday and what she really wants to do is to spend time with her daughters.  Life has been busy for me, last week especially so, and I hardly had a chance to look forward to mom’s visit let alone do those things that I, like everyone else, like to do to impress upon my mother that I lead a clean, safe, and adult life.  You know, things like clean my room, change my sheets, buy toilet paper, hide the bong, etc. Kidding, mom, kidding.  Anyway, I still can’t find it from when I hid it in college.

But what I did have time to do was to make some good, $0.50 per person, bean soup.  I had to buy the veggies on Tuesday because I was going to be too busy Wednesday and Thursday.  I was so stressed I even forgot the beans.  The Li’l Sis thoughtfully pitched in and bought the beans and chopped the veggies Thursday night.  Friday morning I added spices and flipped on the crock pot.   Friday lunchtime I ran out to buy a loaf of bread so I could dash out of work at the stroke of five to get home and clean before Mom’s arrival.  Instead I just crashed out on my bed until her cab pulled up.

It was just bean soup.  It wasn’t anything special.  It was borne of the necessity that I needed something hot, filling, and most importantly, ready when Mom arrived at six when I work until five.  It needed to be cheap so we sisters could splurge on Saturday to take her to one of Manhattan’s finest French restaurants.   It needed to be simple, easy, and something I’ve made and tasted so many times I could finish up with the lights off if I had to hide the state of my unwashed floors.

Mom’s eaten it a million times too but was careful to give the bean soup her fullest compliments.  Yeah, the soup is good in the way that it’s exactly what you’re expecting.  It’s modest, straightforward, and doesn’t hide its homeliness under a topping of mircrogreens.  It’s plain and cheap; it’s what grandma used make when times were tough.

But I think what mom was really saying when she complimented the soup was, “Thanks for taking the time to make me a home-cooked meal.”  Or “It’s really nice to spend time with you, Vanessa.”

Thanks Mom.  It was one of those few times when it mattered much less what we were eating than with whom we were eating it.  It was nice to spend time with you too.

ps. The sentimental nature of this post made me realize it would be a perfect contribution to the “Dishes of Comfort” food blogging event hosted by Ivonne at Cream Puffs in Venice and Orchidea at Viaggi & Sapori.  Watch for the roundup on November 16th or 17th.

Serves: 6
Time: 20 minutes of prep plus overnight and a workday hands-off in the Crock Pot

Crock Pot Bean Soup 

1 bag mixed beans, rinsed
2 leeks, chopped
3 – 4 carrots, cut into coins
4 – 5 stalks of celery, chopped
veggie broth or water and 2-3 bullion cubes
1 tbsp Herbs de Provence
greens, chopped. optional
lemon, salt, and pepper to taste

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I’m pretty sure that everyone I’ve come into contact with in the last month is currently wiping their nose with a tissue or making sad little “I’m sick” noises. And I’m unhappy to report that I suffered through this nor’easter of a cold last week. One of the few things that made me feel better was this soup.

I’ve gotta thank my dad for inspiring this “sick soup” – when I had a cold when I was little he used to make me “tea” with boiling water, fresh chopped garlic and ginger, honey, lemon and probably something else that made the whole thing sorta vile and un-tea like. (Please note that no actual tea, herbal or otherwise, was used.)

But, now being adult I can appreciate his wisdom and have turned the active ingredients of his “tea” into something you’ll actually want to eat. The garlic and ginger have antibacterial properties to help fight your cold and flu, thyme helps control and sooth a cough, spinach is a traditional strengthener and tonic.  The tofu and noodles provide sustenance and energy. And while the bamboo shoots may seem a little out of place, the crunchy texture benefits your senses of adventure and humor.  Imperative when you’re sick!

So, I made this soup last week for myself but now wave 3 of this sickness is going around the household and the Li’l Sis needed a bit of a pick me up. Not only that but the Sistaster sent me this scathing email about having to use the food that’s already in the fridge:

“I will go to the store. That’s fine. But I’m not buying things other
than lunch/breakfast stuff until there’s an outline for all the food in
the refrdigetor (sic).”

What’s additionally nice about this soup is that you probably already have the ingredients or feasible substitutes on hand and the whole recipe only takes 30 minutes, short enough for any sickie deal with.

I surprised the Sisters (who went off apple picking – sick and without an outline about what they were going to DO with the apples they picked) with a big pot of this soup and an experimental macaroni-and-peas casserole, pretty much emptying the fridge, freezer, and pantry with the exception of the beets that I got at the farmers market last week. I decided that they were too pretty to cook so watercolored them instead. I’m thinking roasted beets and garlicky beet greens soon! Get ye to the grocery store Sistaster - we’re out of garlic!

Update: The Sistaster went to the store and made a delicious apple crumble with her handpicked apples. And she bought garlic.

Serves: 4-5
Time: 30 minutes

The Best Vegetarian Noodle Soup for a Cold or Flu

10 cups veggie broth
3 carrots, cut into coins or half-rounds
4 stalks of celery, chopped
1/2 tsp thyme
8 oz can bamboo shoots, drained
8 oz tofu, cut into small cubes
10 oz frozen spinach or other leafy green
8 oz ribbon noodles
6 cloves of garlic, minced
½ inch of ginger, minced
juice of ½ - 1 lemon
hot sauce

Put the broth in a large soup pan and bring to a low boil. Meanwhile, chop the veggies.

Toss in the carrots and celery and cook for 5 – 10 minutes. Add the thyme, bamboo, tofu, frozen spinach and noodles and cook until the noodles are almost done, adding the garlic, ginger and lemon at the last minute to keep as “raw” as possible as this is when they have the most antibacterial effect. The pungency of the garlic and lemon and balmy feeling of the thyme feel good on a ragged throat.

Serve steaming hot with plenty of hot sauce – both the steam and the heat from the hot sauce will help clear those sinuses!

I thought it was pretty interesting that last week the New York Times came out with a naeng-myun article one day after Slashfoods did a piece with a recipe for it - am I the only one who’s never heard of this dish before?!

The naeng-myun looked and sounded delicious so I made it my personal challenge to create a vanesscipe (easy vegetarian yummy recipe by Vanessa) for it. The obstacles to overcome were threefold:
1) an interesting vegetarian substitute for the beef brisket
2) a cold and tasty vegetarian broth
3) keeping it simple, but with enough flavors and ingredients to still be interesting and authentic(ish.)

What I did was substitute cold, sliced smoked tofu for the brisket to add a chewiness. I made my broth from bullion cubes + ice cubes… I actually prefer the taste of bullion cube broth to boxed (and I’m not apologizing, harrumph) AND it’s easier to get dehydrated cubes home from the grocery store. The sweet asian pear + spicy daikon radish + crunchy cucumber + chewy tofu make an interesting and refreshing combination with the cold but spicy sweet broth.

I highly recommend searching out the asian pear. It’s like biting into an icy sphere of flower honey. Pardon my poetics, just go try one.

Besides the noodles, which lose their shape after a while, this dish is easy to make in advance. I actually packed the whole thing up and brought it to the park for a picnic. Pack the veggies in one container, put the cold broth in another container or thermos, and coat the noodles in a little sesame oil so they don’t stick together and pack those separately too. Better than sandwiches, I promise!

Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 2

Noodles and Broth

2 bundles of buckwheat udon noodles
1 bullion cube (enough for 1 cup of bullion)
2 ice cubes
2 cups cold water
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp hot yellow mustard
1 Tbl vinegar
1 tsp sugar or honey
1 Tbl soy sauce

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This is my third summer here in New York. This is also the third year I haven’t bought an air conditioner for my side of the apartment. It’s flipping hot in here! Here are some of my survival techniques to keep me from turning into a warm puddle of vanessagoo:

• A lot of water
• Iced coffee
• The ice cream truck
• Sunbathing at the park
• Wearing my bathing suit all weekend
• Spray bottles
• Whining about the heat in a blog post
• Trips to my local grocery – it’s truly like 60 degrees in there
• Cold showers + window fans
• And, of course, hanging out on The Sistaster’s side of the apartment. Right in front of the air conditioner.

Oh, and eating cold foods. I’ll start the dog days off right by sharing my recipes for a cool summer soup and a refreshing but hearty salad. I promise you’ll like them, even if you’re smart enough to have an air conditioner.

Time: 50 minutes, plus chilling time for the soup
Serves: 4

Chilled Avocado Parsley Soup

2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup packed chopped Italian parsley
juice of 2 limes
3 cups cold water (or half veggie broth)
3 avocados, peeled and quartered
1 tsp salt
1 small cucumber, cut into tiny dice (to serve

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This is a perfect light spring meal for when you’re feeling all vernal and stuff. All the green makes it soothing to the eyes and the smooth texture and surprisingly big taste of the soup make it easy on the palate.
I generally avoid having to lug out the blender but this soup is so easy I think it’s worth it. You also get double duty if you make the bean spread in the blender as well.
This meal has a lot of little prep parts to it and little cooking time, so you could cut the time in half if you had someone helping you. If you’re cooking on your own it will take about 50 minutes. Just make sure someone else does the dishes.

Serves: 2
Time: 50 minutes

Soup

1 small sweet onion (Vidalia or Spanish), diced
1 Tbl butter
1 10 oz package frozen baby peas or 2 cups fresh peas (I used the fancy organic frozen peas)
2 cups boxed veggie broth
1 Tbl chopped mint
½ tsp salt
sour cream, crème fraiche, or yogurt to top - optional

 White Bean Asparagus Bruschetta

1 loaf of french bread (I used wheat)
1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
¼ cup olive oil
1 clove garlic, chopped*
juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp thyme
1 bunch of asparagus, trimmed and cut diagonally into 3 inches pieces
salt and pepper to taste

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