On Fasting, Soup, And Late Winter Sunshine

Things have been on the blah side lately around here.When do I ever NOT say that these days?It’s true that between the punishing winter and the long hours spent at home, I have been struggling to muster much enthusiasm for anything.And then came the war -, or should I say the “excursion”, like an episode of Bombs on the Beach or something? Just when I thought my phone and screen habits were getting better.

I spent the better part of last weekend refreshing various news websites and social media outlets I thought I had sworn off for good.

I swear I tried my best to feel at home again in the United States.

But the world isn’t making it easy.

And so, I find myself craving the boredom and predictability of some Paris afternoons. When you know it’s going to be grey and the kids will come out of school and the restaurant around the corner has been the same since you were a child yourself, and you could still buy buttons from a random “mercerie” in a slightly sad side street, and the president is mainly trying to keeps things the way they are for as long as he can muster it.

A place where people are mostly fine with the way things are and are not trying to constantly reinvent themselves, or reshape entire regions of the world.

The older I get, the more I am becoming this boring woman. I’d be happy to work on my crochet and crosswords all day and go take a walk in nature in the afternoon. I would then go home and curl up by a fire that some benevolent soul would have lit for me beforehand. Then I would proceed to read for a couple of hours before dinner.

I want nothing more these days, as it seems the world is giving us too much.

My son is waiting to hear from the schools he applied to in the U.S., and I find myself hoping he will need to choose between the options available to him elsewhere.

My faith isn’t here anymore, and for now at least, I haven’t been able to rekindle the flame of the twenty-something who fell in love with New York and swore she would never be happy anywhere else.I miss my family, my home. I would like to go back and burrow a nest for my daughter and my boys, those of us who will stay behind when my oldest leaves for college this summer.          

There is so much unknown, between where he will end up, and what my professional life will look like. What our family’s future looks like, and where.

In moments like these I can only go back to what I know and create whatever little sunshine I have control over.

This week, sunshine came in the form of two conversations.One this morning on the bus that was taking my ten-year-old class to a jazz show. The little girl sitting next to me pulled a sweet little notebook and showed me the cat she had drawn in class that morning. Then she showed me her method, should I want to replicate it. It involved writing the word “Cat” first and drawing from there. Something my boys would surely like.

The other piece of goodness came yesterday, in a taxi cab. The Sikh driver was talking about speaking different languages, and seemingly out of the blue, asked me what word I would use in English to describe a situation where a non-Muslim person eats in front of a Muslim one during Ramadan. “They’re not exactly being mean, he said, but still they are eating in front of us while we can’t”   My mind was blank until a word randomly popped into my head: “Taunting”, I said. “He would be taunting you”.

The man went silent for a second, then thanked me profusely. “That’s a teacher’s mind”, he said. I had told him I was a teacher by training.    

I was on my way to a career fair at my kids’ school, where I would talk about teaching to 9 and 10^th graders, even though I haven’t taught in three years and am not sure I would want to keep doing it.

Impostor’s syndrome was in full gear. The old confusion around what to do, and how, to earn a living again. The old shame.

And then, this question, and those words from a stranger in a cab. Those words coming from obvious pain, in a fraught international context that couldn’t be ignored. I’m not sure why he asked me, and what happened to him exactly, to prompt this questioning. I will never know it, but the trust and vulnerability deeply moved me and reset my mind for the day, when I was going down the hill of pessimism and doom.

Words can do this. A simple exchange in a car, with a stranger, on a rainy March afternoon.

Soup can also do this, I have found, on days when boredom and weariness run deep.

My boys are not fans of this soup - we prefer smooth soups, mom!!- , which is too bad because when I made it at the end of that rough, dull week, they happened to be the only ones at home. The teenagers, who like it, were out baby-sitting and rehearsing piano with a friend.

But oh well, my husband and I enjoyed it.

It is so simple to make, involves no mixing, and is just a ray of sunshine in the middle of the winter. Even though it is technically a summer soup, involving mostly summer ingredients.Since I make it with canned tomatoes, it turns out it doesn’t matter, and zucchini is always fine enough no matter the season, if you’re not looking for a gourmet experience with them.

So here it is, a simple minestrone, but in a zesty, lemony version that never fails us. Or, should I say, never fail me, since you already know what my little boys think of it.

Zesty Minestrone Soup

Adapted from The Kitchn   

I mostly follow the recipe, except I do not use celery, which is one of the few edible things in the world that I have a hard time enjoying. I usually use leeks instead.

What makes this soup so delicious, in my opinion, is the parmesan rind added towards the end of the cooking process. That, and the splash of lemon before serving. It adds a lovely tanginess that makes this soup a delight in the middle of dreary winter.   

Ingredients

• 1 medium yellow onion 

• 6 medium stalks celery. I personally use 3-4 leeks instead.

• 1 large zucchini

• 3 medium carrots 

• 1 small sweet potato – does not appear in classic minestrone recipes, but works wonders I think, and gives the soup a cheery color – never to be underestimated in hard times.

• 2 cloves garlic

• 1 small (15-ounce/400 grams) can white beans, such as cannellini or Great Northern

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more for seasoning

• 1 (2x3-inch/5-7 cm) Parmesan rind

• 1 large (28-ounce/800 grams) can diced tomatoes

• 6 cups low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth. I personally prefer chicken broth, which works well with the saltiness of the parmesan and light sweetness of the sweet potatoes. But not an option if you’re a vegetarian, obviously.

• 1/2 medium lemon

• 2 tablespoons basil pesto, plus more for serving. You can make your own, of course. I personally never have the time and use a pre-packaged version I find on Fresh Direct, which does a fine job.

• 4 cups baby spinach or baby kale

• Parmesan cheese and crusty bread, for serving

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Prepare the vegetables. Dice the following (no larger than 1/2-inch), keeping them separate: 1 medium yellow onion (about 1 cup), 6 medium stalks celery /3-4 leeks (about 2 cups), 1 large zucchini (about 2 cups), 3 peeled medium carrots (about 1 1/4 cups), and 1 peeled small sweet potato (about 2 cups). Finely chop 2 garlic cloves. Drain and rinse 1 can white beans. 

2. Sauté the mirepoix. Place 2 tablespoons olive oil and 2 tablespoons unsalted butter in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Once the butter melts and begins to sizzle, add the onion and 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and sauté until softened but not browned about 3 minutes. Add the carrots and celery and cook until brightened in color, 3 to 5 minutes. 

3. Sauté the vegetables. Add the sweet potato and sauté until slightly softened at the edges, about 3 minutes. Stir in the zucchini and garlic, and cook until softened, about 2 minutes. 

4. Add seasonings, tomatoes, and broth. Add 1 Parmesan rind, 1 can diced tomatoes and their juices, 6 cups chicken or vegetable broth, and the beans. Stir to combine and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.

5. Simmer for 30 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the carrots and sweet potato are tender, 20 to 30 minutes. 

6. Remove the Parmesan rind. Remove and discard the Parmesan rind.

7. Stir in the pesto, lemon juice, and greens. Squeeze in the juice from 1/2 lemon (about 1 tablespoon). Stir in 2 tablespoons basil pesto and 4 cups baby spinach or baby kale and simmer until combined and the greens wilt. Taste and season with salt as needed.

8. Serve the soup. Ladle the soup into bowls. Thinly shave Parmesan cheese with a Y-peeler and scatter onto the soup, and drizzle with more pesto. Serve with crusty bread