HOW TO FIND A HOME: SOUPS TO NOURISH THE HEART

Recalling your touch

My flower petals blush

Dawn comes in blossom!

There are two kinds of prayers. “Please, please, please.” and “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”

When the heart reaches out with sincerity and pain, like flowers seeking sunshine, the first prayer evokes the second.

We all came to The Crossing in our own manner. Lisa followed her cousin Lydia. Gus was drawn here because one day he followed an eagle flying along the river. Concetta came here to recover from a broken heart.

Concetta has had her lovers. Good-hearted men who wooed her with compliments about her cute little nose and flirty black curls. Men who were intrigued by her need for artistic expression and her lack of convention. Men who tried to save her from adventures when she attempted to live out a vagabond fantasy of living in chrome travel trailer, roaming about the U.S. with her dog and girls and paintbrushes. She’s had a rich publisher boyfriend from New York, a poor cowboy, and a jazz musician. They came in a full spectrum of ethnicities, religions, colors, and political persuasions. Her love repertoire was unbiased. The only thing they ever had in common was that they were all tall. Very, very tall.

And then it happened. The one love that made Concetta pull up the drawbridge. What can I say about him without sounding trite? He was everything you would expect him to be: beautiful and broken. The kind of man that makes a woman’s breast ache it longs so to nurture and heal. So Concetta the artist, the independent spirit, hunkered down to fix her man. His name was Jack and he was 6 foot 5 inches tall. Very, very tall!

There was a quality about the two of them, an understanding that was immediate because, like Jack, Concetta too had her childhood of pain and abandonment; an alcoholic dad and childhood homes where voices yelled, and souls shrank. So much was understood without words. Jack never asked anything of Concetta but that she accept him for who he was, complete with all those fragmented pieces, sharp edges, and hurtful behaviors. But after ten years of his broken ways of being, Concetta's heart grew tired.

One day, when Concetta came down to the Crossing to visit Lydia, Lydia told her to go look at the house across the street, once owned by the “cat woman” but being remodeled for resale by Billy.

Perhaps it was while standing on the porch that Concetta realized she could not heal Jack, could not keep him out of other women’s beds or sober in the morning. Perhaps the river’s water called home her own tears.

She experienced a moment of peace standing on the porch, looking out over the squat neighborhood houses peeking out through overgrown shrubs. Her spirit settled. “This is my home!” she declared to Billy. “I’m going to live here!” It was a moment of clarity. In this house, with its many windows that let in the sun, she knew the chaos and sadness she had fallen into would recede.

Concetta picked up a rock from the front yard and for over a year she carried it in her pocket. Buried in debt and with only a part-time job, she didn’t know how she could buy the house, but she knew she would. As the year passed, she carried the rock and continued to pray. “Please God, please."

In that year, her father grew sick. The same year her mother’s mind gave in to senility. Concetta spent her time tending ill parents and mothering her two daughters. When her father died, he left Concetta just enough money to buy the house. In her pocket was the rock she carried for eighteen months.

Now she lives alone. Jack’s old truck is parked, abandoned, in her back driveway. He also left a bicycle, and an old red cruiser from the ‘60s is in her shed.

From my porch, I see Concetta in her garden pulling weeds, her body arches gracefully as if forged from a combination of sadness and strength. She has a studio behind her house. Here she creates sculptures with such mundane but profound titles as, “16 Steps to Fall Asleep!” Now she’s got a vision in her head, something that brings in the skeletons of real, once-live birds. The neighbors have become like cats and are dropping dead birds off at her house like little prizes. She puts them in her freezer and giggles at the morbid nature of her art.

“Something about flight and angels,” she says and shrugs.

Each Christmas, she throws a party. Her small house fills with neighbors, friends, and family. Together, we sing Christmas carols and whisper and laugh. She makes soup. “This is my thank-you to the Crossing for taking me in.”

“There’s a lot of pain in life. But there is so much more to celebrate.”

Your gentle night heart

Bird fluttering sad thunder

Beneath my hand, hush!

Anyone of these soups will cure a broken heart. Once a friend of mine was so broken-hearted that she hadn’t eaten for days. I took her down on my deck overlooking the river.. In the afternoon sunlight, she shared the story of the handsome man who didn’t call her back. I didn’t respond with an “I’m so sorry!” or, “That bastard! How could he?” I just gave her a hug and said. “Let me bring you some soup.” After the first bowl you could see her start to perk up. Later that week she came to a party with a new and just as handsome man. They were all smiles. I’ve got the soup on the back burner just in case. Love is too fickle to not always be prepared.

Soups

Butternut Squash Soup with Croutons and Parmesan Cheese

Chicken- Tomatillo Soup

Brazilian Vatapa with Cod

Mediterranean Bean and Olive Soup

Butternut Squash with Homemade Croutons and Parmesan cheese

1 3-4 pound squash peeled and seeded and cut into 1-inch cubs- 6 cups approx.

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon butter

1 large onion, diced

3 stalks celery

6 cups vegetable broth

1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage

2 tablespoon chopped chives

Dollop of plain greek yogurt

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Paprika to taste.

For croutons-

4 slices herbed rustic bread, torn into large chunks.

3 tablespoons Olive oil

Toss bread chunks in olive oil, spread on a baking sheet and toast for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Set aside.

Mix squash with olive oil and place on a baking sheet and bake at 400 for 20 minutes turn over and bake another 15.

In a large stockpot, heat the butter. Add the onion, celery and sage and sauté over medium heat until the vegetables are translucent, about 10 minutes; add the squash, broth, salt and pepper. Lower the heat and let simmer for 30 minutes. Using a blender or food processor, blend the soup in batches until smooth. Soup can be returned to pot to keep worm. Serve in bowls with a small dollop of sour cream, a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese, a dash of paprika and two-three homemade croutons.

Chicken-Tomatillo Soup

1 ½ Tablespoon Olive oil

½ onion, finely minced

6 cloves garlic

two chicken breasts

3 celery stalks, chopped

2 teaspoons crushed chilies

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 tablespoon paprika

8 cups chicken broth-6

20 tomatillos, husks removed and quartered

1 4oz can of tomato paste

2 cup fresh or frozen corn

1 tablespoon honey

10 grill tomatillos - 1 tomato - garlic and onion

1 tablespoon vinegar

14oz cans mild chilies, chopped.1 whole chicken breast still on the bone

Salt and pepper to taste

½ cup fresh cilantro, cleaned, and minced

Avocado slices - sour cream

In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil and add the onion, celery, and crushed peppers, Sauté for 5 minutes. Stir in the cumin and paprika; add the stock, tomatillos, tomato paste, corn, honey and green chilies and the chicken breast. Simmer until the breast is cooked through, about 15minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the breast. Let broth simmer while breast cools enough to be handled. Bone and skin the cooled breast, then shred the meat. Add the shredded chicken to the soup and season with salt and popper. After served into bowls, sprinkle with fresh cilantro and add salt and pepper to taste.

Brazilian Vatapa with Cod

1 lb cod, cut into 1 inch chunks

3 tablespoon oil

1 large onion-finely chopped

3 clove garlic

1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

3 small jalapeno chilies- seeded and finely chopped

5 Tomatoes, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped

Juice of 2 limes

1/3 cup peanut butter

1 cup vegetable or chicken broth

1 cup beer

2 cups coconut milk

Tabasco sauce to taste

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup chopped cilantro

2 limes cut into wedges

In a soup pot, sauté onion, garlic, and ginger over medium low heat for 1o minutes. Add the tomatoes, and peanut butter, and stir together for 1 minute more. Begin slowly stirring in the

chicken stock while continuing to stir so that the mixture becomes smooth. Add the beer and coconut milk, cilantro, salt and Tabasco sauce and cod pieces.

Simmer for 6-8 minutes. Serve in large bowls accompanied with rice. Squeeze a lime wedge over each bowl.

Mediterranean Bean and Olive Soup

2 8 oz cans of your favorite white beans.

3 teaspoons olive oil

1 medium onion- diced

3 cloves garlic- minced

2 stalks of celery minced

1 carrot minced

1 red and one green pepper minced

1 14 oz can stewed t

¼ cup red wine

2 cups chicken or vegetable broth

2 cups water

2 small zucchini- chopped.

1 cup sliced and pitted mixed black and green olives

3 tablespoons fresh, chopped oregano

1 tablespoon fresh, chopped thyme

2 tablespoons fresh, basil

¼ cup chopped parsley

Salt and pepper.

Splash of red wine vinegar.

Heat oil in a soup pan. Sauté onion and garlic for 5 minutes until translucent. Add celery, carrot and bell pepper. Sauté another 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, stir and cook for another 5 minutes. Add broth and beans and allow to simmer for 1 minute. Add wine, oregano, thyme and basil and continue simmering for ½ hour. Add zucchini and parsley let simmer for 5 more minutes. Add a splash of red wine vinegar and salt and pepper to taste.

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