Snow Day Soup

Snowed in again, for the fourth or fifth time this short winter. My thoughts turn to what delicious hot concoction I can manage to muster from my somewhat beleaguered pantry and freezer. There's still some leftover Thanksgiving turkey, which was sublime in its original savory juiciness. I boiled the carcass to make stock, which I froze in two cup portions, ready for just this culinary emergency. There are some containers of grilled corn-straight-off-the-cob I froze in July, evocative of a warmer, sunnier time. Turkey vegetable soup may be just the thing, if the veggie drawer will yield some usable produce. Ah, yes, the gigantic carrots I got from the last Iowa Food Co-op distribution; perhaps some fingerling potatoes. Would a lone acorn squash work in turkey soup? Why not?!

I quit following some types of recipes awhile ago, and have since found a certain freedom in the kitchen. As long as you understand the basics of certain processes---roasting, sauteeing, stir-frying---you can mix and match ingredients to your heart's content. Some people have a gourmand's sense of flavor blending, which I have not yet acquired. But I do know that some spices fit better with some types of food and methods than others. Having a moderately well-stocked pantry helps facilitate impromptu recipe development---oils, vinegars, wine, spices and herbs, onions, garlic---all are necessary at some point for the type of cooking I enjoy. I frequently consult a cookbook for proportions of liquid to solids, and timing, but often the ingredient combination becomes my own.

Baking is another story---I'm not brave enough to veer from a recipe for bread, cookies or muffins. There is still something mysterious to me about the miraculous transformation of gloppy batter into fluffy fragrant morsels. So I will consult the back of the cornmeal box for the recipe for cornbread to accompany the soup.

My family patiently goes along with my passion for soups and stews in the winter. I sometimes feel I must apologize for the frequency of their appearance on the table. But why? The ingredients are often organic, fresh frozen by me, served appealingly with fresh bread or muffins and fruit. It's the perfect winter meal. A little variation from time to time, based on available ingredients, makes it a new taste each time. An extra-large batch for our small family insures at least another delicious meal on a hectic day when I don't have the luxury of enforced time at home.

Since I'll be in the kitchen anyway, perhaps I'll mix up a batch of our favorite peanut butter-M&M cookies, faithfully following the recipe I have used for 25 some years. It works every time.