winter survival rituals: soup for lunch

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winter survival rituals: soup for lunch

January 24, 2011 by Katie Noah Gibson

It’s cold here, folks. And I hear it will be cold for several more months. So I’m cooking up all the warm, nourishing, flavorful food we can eat. And since nothing fits those adjectives like a steaming bowl of soup, I’m eating soup for lunch these days – every day.

I’m rotating half a dozen beloved soup recipes right now (suggestions welcome!), and I always keep ingredients for one or more on hand. I’m much more likely to eat healthily if I’ve planned ahead; I’ll eat leftovers from my dinners with J, too, but if we don’t have any, then I’ll whip up a pot of soup for lunch. (Bonus: since I eat lunch alone, these pots of soup last three or four days, with hunks of bread, crumbled saltine crackers, sliced cheese and/or fruit.)

It’s amazing how cozy it feels to sit at our dining-room table, wrapped in a blanket, and read a chapter or two of a good book while spooning up chili, jalapeno, tomato, Tuscan sausage, black bean, or butternut squash soup. Bonus: most of my soup recipes involve good veggies, which I tend to avoid during the winter (I hate eating salads when it’s cold out). So they’re not only warm, but healthy. And so, so delicious.

What do you turn to for a warming lunch on these chilly winter days? And would anyone be interested in a week of soups here on the blog?

Posted in musings | Tagged comfort, rituals, soup, winter | 14 Comments

14 Responses

on January 24, 2011 at 9:21 am | Reply Corrie

I made Roasted Eggplant Soup last fall, similar to this recipe: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Roasted-Eggplant-Soup-4397.
And even my soup-sceptic family loved it.
on January 24, 2011 at 11:13 am | Reply jacque

I can email you my mom’s hearty beef and veggie stew. I also have a great recipie for an indian curry soup, a pumpkin curry, potato and leek, broccoli, and a bunch of others. Watcha want?!
on January 24, 2011 at 11:51 am | Reply Christine

If by “week of soups,” you mean “recipes included,” then definitely! 🙂 I’m always looking for more soup recipes.
on January 24, 2011 at 5:06 pm | Reply Sarah

OMG! I can barely contain my excitement. First, because I just bought the very same notebook as a new journal and couldn’t be more pleased with how pretty and cheap it was. Second of all, because you had me at “jalapeno, tomato, Tuscan sausage.” Not sure those go together, but it got me excited! Soup’s on!
on January 24, 2011 at 6:21 pm | Reply alisha

I can’t remember if I told you this before, but I have that same journal too. I love it.

I made a yummy zucchini soup last night from The Stone Soup website. It’s a great site because all the recipes are 5 ingredients or less and take 10 minutes to prepare. I’d definitely love a week of soup!

(P.S. I used to not like exclamation marks either — I think they’re illegal in the UK. But since I’ve moved back I’ve really gotten into the swing of things with them!)
on January 24, 2011 at 11:27 pm | Reply peacefulknitter

I’d love a week of soups! I’m pretty terrible at eating a good lunch; typically it’s leftovers, cereal, maybe a grilled cheese… it looks really sad in writing!
on January 25, 2011 at 4:30 am | Reply breadtobeeaten

It’s cold. I’m dying. Please share all your soups. I. NEED. WARMFOOD.
on January 25, 2011 at 10:38 am | Reply 4megsmusing

I would love a week of soup recipes. I make soup often as well. My kids love it, so it’s an easy way for me to make sure they’re getting their veggies.
on January 25, 2011 at 12:54 pm | Reply Crysta

Soup is essential for this weather! I’m in Chicago, so we had your bitter cold last week: Friday morning’s windchill was -21!

I too have been making a lot of soup and would love a week of soup recipes. Some of my favorites lately come from the Whole Kitchen blog, especially the Smoky Corn & Bacon Chowder – http://thewholekitchen.wordpress.com/2009/08/12/smoky-corn-bacon-chowder/ It’s not quite as good with frozen winter corn as with farmstand fresh summer corn, but it warms me through and through.
on January 25, 2011 at 4:08 pm | Reply Dani

Yes! I love recipes. Do tell! 🙂
on January 26, 2011 at 12:27 am | Reply Jet

My mother makes soup nearly every day in fall/winter. Somehow I’ve fallen out of the habit – I don’t know why, as the reward-for-effort ratio is so high. I’ll have to check your soup post and see if you shared links for those. I could try something new.
on January 28, 2011 at 7:05 pm | Reply Allison Knight

Yes! Please post a week of soups! I would LOVE that! I’m experiencing my first real winter in New York (I’m from Southern California where 60 degrees is “cold”).

I love reading your blog and find you and your ideas on how to adapt to a new home (lots of knitting, comfort movies and books, etc.) inspiring. Thanks for inadvertently helping me adjust to my new home too!
on January 31, 2011 at 8:16 am | Reply Let the Week of Soups begin! « cakes, tea and dreams

[…] week, I praised the glories of soup for lunch, and asked if anyone would be interested in a week of soups on this blog. The answer came in a […]
on February 14, 2011 at 8:14 am | Reply unemployment and the guilt complex « cakes, tea and dreams

[…] which have filled my last six months: a freelance project or two; laundry and dishes; making soup for lunch; walking to the post office and the branch library; playing around on Twitter and blogs; sipping […]