04 February 2010

Soul Food

Even though winter has a tendency to get on my damn nerves after a while, it also has the useful trait of pushing me to do things well. I am at a loss to explain it, but I always seem to do a lot of my best work, best efforts in the deep freeze season. I remember back in college, my GPA was always highest in winter. One of my best grading periods ever happened during a stretch of absolutely miserable, windy, freeze-the-nards-off-of-every-living-soul winter weather up in the mountains of Virginia. I think I clocked in at 3.7 for the semester. Go figure.

Maybe a lot is to do with the focus that winter brings to me. The weather limits a lot of what I want to do, by sheer dint of low temperatures and sparser daylight. So I think the ol' noggin starts looking in and seeking relief in the task and flow of whatever I may want to do.

On the day that I wrote this, a freezing, overcast and ultimately snowy Saturday, that mental spotlight was sweeping over my besieged brain and contemplating dinner. Having time and resources (and feeling blessed to warm and dry and with plenty to eat) I ginned up a little something (well, a lot of something) to keep me comfortable and well-fed while I shook off the creepin' crud of cabin fever. Behold:


My version of cabbage soup, with noodles and sausage. 

Remember how I said I often do my best work in winter? Well, ladies and gentlemen, that there soup? Tres bon, mon cher!

I guess a little snow wasn't so bad after all...care to share a bowl with me? What's your winter warmer?

19 comments:

  1. Looks like a perfect way to spend a freezing evening that gets on your nerves. Even with the meat, Viola! Too bad it's so late right now; the photo made me hungry.

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  2. That soup does look mighty tasty!!! Send me a bowl would ya ... ASAP ... it's freezing here, and we're supposed to get more ... wait for it ... wait for it ...

    hats off to ya ... you were right ... SNOW!!! UGH.

    Where's spring?

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  3. My winter warm up would be calling my local place for pad thai - the place where they write down my order as soon as they see my face.
    But that looks good, minus the sausage. :-)

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  4. that soup is made of win
    pair it up with a Guinness
    and call it perfection

    Peace ~ Rene

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  5. Anything with sausage in is fabulous. Soup with sausage (floating) sounds divine.

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  6. Snow is moving in
    Texas chili sits on the stove simmerin'
    Words, mixing, stirring up my mind
    my palate; sometimes overwhelmed
    covers pulled up higher
    shielding out the weather
    warming my feet
    comforting my thoughts; my chili
    will warm my belly, and remind me
    stayin' in sometimes can be a good thing...

    Yours look pretty darn good Gumbo, you had me at noodles, cabbage, and sausage...

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  7. Ooooo, that looks fantastic! The sausage is a great idea. Mine is Chicken Tortilla Stew. Not soup, stew.
    BTW, you are the only other person I've ever heard use the term Creepin' Crud. My family has always said it. Ha!

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  8. Uhhm, YUM.

    My winter warmer is homemade chili (tomato base not brown). I don't tend to do well in winter, but maybe that's because the past winters the sun came up at 8:30 and went down at 3:30. We aren't as far north now so that does help. But I had to move my desk to my bedroom where I have five windows so I can get some yummy sun. Otherwise I'm a slug.

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  9. Yummmm. That looks great. We love green chili during the winter (actually all year long) and even the kids eat it!

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  10. I've got a pregnant wife in her second trimester keeping me warm. Warm with ever expanding layers of fat creeping across my gut. Right now we have pumpkin pie, apple turnovers and chocolate chip cookies in the kitchen. That's just the desserts.

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  11. Well, there's always my chili, of course, but I was extremely like-minded yesterday - I have a lovely warm-your-belly soup on my site today.

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  12. I love black bean soup. Little dab of sour cream on top, little sprinkle of cheese, and a piece of cornbread to dip into it. You've got me hungry again.

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  13. that looks excellent (and I'm a vegetarian). i'd probably have to try a meatless version. In cold weather I like veggie grinders - warm toasty veggie sandwiches. The only place i've ever had them is Florida. I'm not sure if they're a regional food item, but they sure are good.

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  14. One look at that....bring on the snow.

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  15. That soup looks great. My winter warmer is chili.

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  16. I want to eat that, and I just ate the best hot dog of my life. But, I still want to eat that soup. Yum...

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  17. you know what, that is really interesting...i think i write my best poems in the Winter.

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"Let your laws come undone
Don't suffer your crimes
Let the love in your heart take control..."


-'The Hair Song', by Black Mountain

Tell me what is in your heart...