Lentil Soup

Lentil Soup, a photo by susanvg on Flickr.

I love it when my daughter cooks. The house was filled with the enticing smells of garlic and onion. Lentil soup - perfect for a winter day. Tasty, nourishing and warming from the inside out.

Cold Day Warm Soup

Cold Day Warm Soup, originally uploaded by susanvg.

Slippery sidewalks make for treacherous walking. So today I stayed home and cooked and caught up on paperwork - but the food was more photogenic than the stacks of paper I sorted through.

The house smells wonderful with cooking smells wafting up the stairs to my office. When I was small, my mother sometimes served me soup with a whole chicken leg in the bowl "chicken in the pot", but since this photo, I have stripped the meat from the bones. I love to have soups- freshly made or defrosted from the freezer. They make a wholesome meal and warm you up on cold winter days.

Paperwork, on the other hand, doesn't quite have that same warming effect. As soon as I sort through one stack, the postman brings more to the house. There is a never-ending supply. Sometimes I feel like I am a processing plant taking mail in, sorting it for various recipients in this house, then dealing with my own, with envelopes in recycling and the important pieces on the continuously growing piles. At least I made a good dent today.

Day 341: Buy a Jar

Day 341: Buy a Jar, originally uploaded by susanvg.

Supper at a restaurant in Toronto - buy your fill of soup. The first snow has fallen and I have already cooked two pots of soup since my kitchen is once again serviceable. I love to make soup as I rarely follow a recipe - just throw in what is in my refrigerator and hope for the best. This is not quite true - I do sometimes plan ahead and buy the vegetables I want for my latest concoction. After trying "green" soup at my friend and colleagues, I made my own version with broccoli, celery, leeks, dill and spinach. It was quite a success. This is not always the case as my spontaneous combinations do not always yield savoury delights. But even short of perfection, a warm bowl of soup on a wintry day hits the spot.

Day 49: Making Soup

Day 49: Making Soup, originally uploaded by susanvg.

Comfort food - that's what soup is. I rarely use a recipe - just throw into the pot any vegetables I have around. Some soups include legumes - this one just fresh vegetables. I love the aroma in the house as it simmers on the stove. I smell it now as I write. It's a great way to start a meal or can be a satisfying meal in itself. A great example of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts as the blending of flavours creates something new!