fighting off f_____ february
how deep is your hatred of february (read: winter doldrums) when you feel inspired to make a playlist because of your hatred in hopes that it will give you a little boost? asking for a friend.
back in 2019, three friends and i decided we needed something to look forward to in the dark months, so we began SOUP GROUP. i don’t remember whose idea it was, only that we latched onto it verrrrrry quickly.
each of us would take a turn hosting. all that hosting entailed was to cook soup for the four of us and probably light a candle or two. it was winter magic! the simple ideas usually are. plus, i didn’t have to cook (save my one turn hosting), i got to see friends, and early sunset couldn’t touch my SADness (regular exercise also helped with this)!
we have plans to do soup group again this year. so, it felt like a divine confirmation that soup group should happen when i stumbled across a fount of soup content—anne helen petersen’s newsletter’s SECOND ANNUAL SOUP EXTRAVAGANZA, which has over 340 comments of - you guessed it - soup recommendations. it catapulted me into opening like 30+ tabs for each recipe that sounded delicious… which i then whittled down to the most interesting contenders on this soup group pinterest board.
soup is the hygge of food. and i plan to participate all of fall and winter. amen.
some of my favorites
curried tomato tortellini soup - pictured above. i made a huge pot of this soup and ate it for a week straight for lunch. it was comforting + filling, but not heavy. i hope and pray your husband isn’t averse to curry like mine is because he will be miss. ing. out.
chicken and buttermilk dumplings - this is soup adjacent, but i think it still counts since you eat it out of a bowl. one of the “i-make-it-once-a-fall” recipes in my repertoire, but trust me when i suggest you double the rosemary. perfection in a bowl.
pork and tomatillo stew - ruth reichl, former editor of gourmet and former new york times restaurant critic, makes this orange juice/beer/tomatillo magic for her family on christmas eve. i love the idea of having a standing smell associated with a time of year. for me, it’s this stew and football season. i made my memory for 2022 a few weekends ago… letting this burble all day long before UT played ball. go vols and make this stew STAT.
the black bean soup from i dream of dinner - i couldn’t find this recipe online, but, if you have the book, i dare say you could cook it tonight without going to the grocery. the perfect pantry meal IMO.
some of y’all’s favorites
from claire:
from emma
from jess
jackie says: this is my fav veggie soup of winter esp when I feel a cold coming on. I love to make it with home made bone broth if I’m feeling bad, but regular broth will do too
drop your favorite soups/stews/bowl food in the comments!
till next time,
i forgot a couple!
THAI CHICKEN MEATBALL SOUP // https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020631-thai-inspired-chicken-meatball-soup
VEGETARIAN SKILLET CHILI // https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017704-vegetarian-skillet-chili
CHICKEN BRAISED WITH TOMATILLOS // https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1019687-braised-chicken-thighs-with-tomatillos