when the pot is a cauldron

Sometimes, soup gets witchy. It can be a little like potion-making when the world's on fire. It starts with a chicken carcass in a pot on the stove overnight, and turns into a lemon-shallot-garlic chicken broth in the morning, because damnit, someone still deserves nice things, and if it isn't you, then you can probably think of someone.

And then you scavenge through your cluttered pantry that REALLY needs a clean out and unearth half a box of pasta shaped like tiny stars, hundreds of little pinheads. There's a box of dried garlic chips you alternately use in everything, then forget about for awhile. There's beans because there's always beans, small white ones in what was once a honey jar.

There's a pile of near-dead things in the crisper that deserve salvation or resurrection, whichever: leeks with dried husks, scallions on the brink of slime, parsley that somehow managed to keep its bitter pep. A bag of baby spinach, because regular grownup spinach is getting harder to find for some reason. A bag of frozen artichoke hearts in the freezer that is somehow the most decadent thing in the world.

The end result isn't pretty, exactly, but it fills a ladle well, with plenty of heft and the promise of warmth and nourishment. And as you serve yourself lunch, you realize you ' ve made the sort of soup you'd keep waiting on the stove for visitors: a welcoming soup. A bolstering soup. A fortification in scary times.

You read about a Ukranian woman who heard about the bombs and immediately bought a cake to share with her friend, and you read the conversation that started with a young Ukranian asking for advice on how to survive a war, and the responses that poured in from all over the world.

And no matter where it comes from, they all seem to arrive at the same place, which is to say: together. together. together. No way through but together.

The saddest part is that a potion by itself is not a spell. A pot on the stove can't conjure the people we need most.

But for a little while, this afternoon, I cooked like people might come making a soup that might not offer a taste of home, but of something equally important.

Together. together. together.

How To Fix Your Soup

Too salty!

This is one of the hardest problems to fix, because the real answer is "make more soup to fix the salt/soup ratio." Add more liquid, add more starch, and make sure none of it is salted, but all ot it is otherwise seasoned - pepper, herbs, etc. Sometimes heat and acid will help.

Too spicy!

Add a little sweetness and a little acid. Honey, sugar, carrot are good for sweet. Vinegar, citrus juice - lime is good for many because it's sweet AND acidic.

It's fine...I guess? But boring.

Add salt, then acid, then adjust spice/heat.

Too sweet!

Add acid, and possibily a little bitterness can help.

Too bitter!

NO acid, YES sweetness, maybe a little salt.

Too watery and lacks depth or dimension!

90% of the time, your problem is not enough salt.

Ingredients:

5 beets

1 red onion broth of some kind (beef is traditional, veggie or chicken is fine) a carrot or two a few cloves of garlic something acidic - red wine vinegar, white vinegar, even cider vinegar is fine black pepper optional: fresh dill optional: mustard optional: dill pickles, chopped sour cream for serving

Wash & scrub beets. Then chop them into quarters or eighths. Roughly chop carrots & red onion. Put beets & carrots in pot, and pour in enough broth to cover about half of them. Cover tightly, and boil/steam for 20-30 minutes, or until you can cut them with a fork. Add peeled garlic and cook for another 10 minutes. Blend. Add salt, pepper, a spoonful of mustard, and splashes of acid until it tastes perfect to you. Eat with sour cream and chopped pickles.

Ingredients:

6 eggs

3 lemons

6 cups broth (chicken or vegetable)

3 carrots

2 onions

4 cloves of garlic

1 cup of uncooked rice (short grain, like arborio, is ideal here, any kind of rice works) dried oregano a bunch of parsley OR dill

Optional: 2 boneless skinless chicken thighs

Chop the onions and carrots small - pinky nail size. Mince garlic. Get those going in pot over medium heat with a little olive oil. Cook for 5 min, then add broth. Bring to boil, then add rice. Cook, stirring frequently, for 20-ish minutes, until rice is soft. If using chicken, chop into small pieces and add now, after rice is cooked. Add a few shakes of oregano. Turn heat down to very low.

Now the hard part: Beat the 6 eggs in a large bowl. SLOWLY take a cup of broth and drizzle into the eggs WHILE you beat them. Then another cup. Do this until the outside of the bowl is quite warm. Then dump it all in the soup. Finish with a ton of lemon juice and fresh herbs, and adjust salt until it tastes perfect to you.

Pantry Soup

Ingredients: salt pepper olive oil bouillon or broth (chicken and vegetable are the most versatile) a head of garlic

1 onion some kind of vinegar canned or dried beans dried herbs: sage, rosemary, or thyme

Start with beans: canned or prepare your dried ones as you normally do. Chop an onion and a head of garlic into near-paste. Get that paste going in some olive oil in a pot. Add pepper, salt, one of your dried herbs, and cook until fragrant, stirring frequently. Add beans and enough broth to cover everything, with about an inch of liquid on top. Turn heat to low and simmer for 20ish minutes. If it tastes boring, add more salt, herbs, and a little shot of vinegar, until it tastes perfect to you.

Ingredients:

4 fist-sized or other size equivalent yukon gold or red potatoes (russets will make you sad. don’t get russets)

1 fist-sized onion

3 ribs of celery

½ stick of butter OR grease of your choice

Dried thyme, a few shakes

Optional: bay leaf

2 cups broth

2 cups whole milk (dairy free folks can double the broth, but why make chowder?)

IF MAKING FISH CHOWDER: 1 lb of hake, cod, or other flaky white fish

IF MAKING POTATO CHOWDER: 1 carrot, and double the celery

IF MAKING CLAM CHOWDER: 1 can (10 oz) whole baby clams, if you can get it.

Chop the potatoes into bite-size pieces. Chop the onion and celery into pinky-nail size pieces. Get them going over medium heat with the butter, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Add the broth and boil for 15 minutes. Add the milk and simmer for 10 more. Add your fish or clams or shrimp or whatever, simmer 4 minutes. Adjust salt and pepper until it tastes perfect to you.

Peanut Butter Chicken Soup

Ingredients: peanut butter (fewest ingredients possible) can of crushed or diced tomatoes (depending on how chunky you like your soups)

1 can coconut milk

2 onions a head of garlic a couple of hot peppers, your choice salt a quart of chicken or veggie broth

4 chicken thighs (bone-in if you can get them) or 5 potatoes and 2 carrots (if you ’ re vegetarian) or both because why not optional garnish: cilantro, scallions

Chop the onion and garlic pretty fine and get them going with a little oil over medium heat. Cook for 5 minutes, then add 3 big spoonfuls of peanut butter. Stir until soft and runny, then add coconut milk and tomatoes, mixing well to incorporate PB. Chop the potato & carrot, and throw that in. Nestle the chicken well into the mix and top with enough broth to cover it all. Add salt & simmer 45 minutes. Taste and adjust salt until it tastes perfect to you. Serve with greenery.