Soups Old and New (and some challah!)

written October 26, 2024 ~

not every dish is going to be a success, and that's ok.  I was whining to my friend that I didn't have a whole chicken for my soup this week, and she suggested I use the chicken breast I had instead.  she said she does it all the time and the result is the same...so I tried it.  it wasn't good.  and not only did the soup itself fall flat, I fell asleep before it was cool enough to cover fully and put in the fridge/freezer, so when I woke up this morning, I quickly realized I had left it out on the counter overnight, uncovered, and now I was going to have to pour it down the drain.  quelle horreur!  

 

 

luckily, I had one serving of my last batch of soup left in the freezer, so for breakfast, there was one serving of delicious ancestor-approved chicken broth to dip my challah in...the last of the round loaves I baked for the holiday season (Rosh Hashanah through Simchat Torah).  it was SO good, and I prayed over it, assuring myself it was a magical elixir pouring into my body filled with healing strength and loving goodness.  its power grows exponentially when the homemade challah and the homemade soup and are eaten together - it's a melody of love wrapped in flavor and texture, carried through generations.  I feel cared for while I indulge in them, warm and cozy when I'm done.

 

I had planned to do some major self-care today, as I started a new job this week and need both the rest, and the space to get used to a new schedule.  it's a bit frustrating, as I was hoping to be on a plane to Israel by now, but I guess it's not my time yet.  I've submitted all my documentation and am waiting for an interview.  I was getting ready to sell my car and sign the apartment over to my son, so I wasn't trying all that hard to get a job because I was hoping to be looking for work in a new country.  but as the weeks began to pass with no money coming in, I HAD to take the first job I was offered, and now I not only need my car, I need it to have good winter tires and a tune up.  

while I'm grateful for the additional time to get ready for an overseas move, I wasn't planning on being in the Northeast for the winter, so I need to shift my perspective a bit from my environment prospectively getting warmer to it getting colder, instead.  and there appear to be one or two more of those unexpected obstacles to navigate that you don't see coming and definitely don't need, but it's yet another opportunity to show others what grace looks like as a response to petty manipulations.  we'll see.  I'll get out of here with everything I need when the time comes.

in any case, one of the ways I planned to care for myself is to try a new-to-me recipe which I will share as an offering to you and yours at the close of Jewish Holiday Season, and the beginning of 'spooky season' as the white folks are calling Halloween and Samhain these days.  

two weeks later ~

 

the water was off overnight and most of the day, so I wasn't able to make my weekly soup in time for Shabbat, but I was mostly making it in the service of the new-to-me soup I'm trying this week - Marak Katom, 'orange soup' in Hebrew.  but no worries, it's back on now, and I'm playing catch-up in my kitchen.  it was a weird week - I got fired from my NEW job for responding to the question "what makes you feel unsafe at work" with "my co-workers wearing keffiyehs and shouting to free a place that never existed" which is both problematic and a Whole Can of Conspiracy Worms so I'll save it for another post.  I'm rightfully feeling all kinds of feels, and I called some friends to yell and cry and laugh about it, which was helpful...but I need soup.  hearty, homemade, happy soup.

 

several hours later ~

 

the chicken soup is done and it's amazing.  tomorrow I'll make the orange soup.

the next day ~

 

the Marak Katom is So Good - gonna eat it with grilled cheese sandwiches all week!  the recipe is from Sivan's Kitchen; check her out on Instagram, I love her content (she served hers in a pumpkin)!

recipe:

1 medium butternut squash

3 medium sweet potatoes

4-5 peeled carrots

large red onion

2 whole heads of garlic

7 cups chicken stock

olive oil

salt, pepper

pumpkin seeds and cinnamon for garnish (optional)

 preheat the oven to 400º.  cut the veggies in half (removing squash seeds); drizzle with oil, salt & pepper, and place face down on a parchment covered baking sheet (wrap garlic in foil); roast one hour.  scoop squash innards into soup pot, add carrot & onion, squeeze the garlic into the pot, add the chicken stock, and simmer.  puree until creamy, and it's done!