Hasty Soup

This one is for all the cooks out there with kids. What do you do if you’re finally relaxing after a long day and the brightest, sweetest boy in your life comes to you and says, “When are you going to make soup again?”

In a split second your brain quickly calculates all the veggies you can hide in one single bowl while at the same time you reflect on the last few days of junk food binging and you ask, “When would you like me to make soup?”

“I was just thinking about that kinda carrot-chunky, but not too potato-chunky soup you make with the peanuts on top. Could you make that now? I started to like soup and I feel like eating some now.”

Again the brain is way ahead and you’re quickly processing the memory banks for any soup recollection involving chunks and peanuts all the while you know he hates most of the ingredients included in soup. He just brought you a giant bag of broccoli from Grandpa’s community garden, so you say, “Would you like a cream of broccoli with Asian flavors? That would compliment the peanuts?

“Yes, but can you leave the broccoli out?” he asks in all earnestness.

“I’ll puree it so you won’t even know it’s there.”

By this time you are already in the kitchen dicing onions and mincing garlic afraid he will change his mind about the soup. Five minutes into the onion saute and veggie prepping he comments, “That smells so good! Is it done yet?” Time is of the essence, you don’t have time to think, and a hasty twenty minutes later you put out a bowl of “kinda chunky, but not too potato-chunky” Asian infused broccoli soup.

As he devours the bowl of soup you hear, “I don’t think the potatoes are quite done, Mom…These are kind of big pieces of broccoli…Can I have some hot pepper flakes – it’s a little bland…maybe you should put it in the blender with some hot pepper flakes, cumin and some more spices…” Despite the feedback, the bowl of soup disappears!

What do you do? In amazement of his culinary expertise, you cook it a few more minutes to ensure the spuds are cooked through, you spoon it into the blender, add pepper flakes, cumin, nutmeg and curry. Then you ask, “Would you like to try a little bowl of the new soup?”

“No, I want a big bowl – more than the last bowl.” So you scoop it up and present him with the edited version of the first.

“Oh, man! What a terrible color! It’s kind of greenish brownish. That’s the worst color ever!” Nevertheless, he sits down to eat an entire of bowl of broccoli, potatoes, carrots, cilantro, onions and garlic!

So, the next time the sweetest picky-eater boy in your life asks when you will make soup, what will you say and do? I recommend you follow a recipe!

Note: The soup is greenish brownish because I used soy sauce, Mirin and Thai red curry for the Asian flavor base, and the pureed carrots and broccoli didn’t help. I think with some coconut milk we could lighten the color and make it a little more presentable, but I don’t think I will bother as this soup has already completed its’ purpose – “It has healthiness!” as the boy would say.