Make This Soup

Early this morning when Miles woke, rather cheerfully, at 4:50am for the morning, I found a reminder in my inbox from foodtidings.com. Now, Food Tidings is a relatively new discovery for me. Generally, when meals are requested for families, there is a coordinator who has to send out emails and phone calls and herd cats to get everything in line for the family to get a meal on the right date that doesn't have allergens, eggplant, or things that make their toddlers hyper. I really wish someone had thought of this many years ago. It is just a great service - my first thought was for postpartum mamas (of course). But my reminder this morning was for a meal for a mama who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a double mastectomy. She has two young children, one who had to be weaned in short time before her breasts were removed. She will be undergoing chemo soon, but the best news is that her cancer was Stage One and the prognosis therefore sounds really positive.

My plan is to fill up their family with some healthful food via a huge batch of Savannah Bisque. It has a rich history for me, dating back to my college days at the Firebrand in Gunnison, Colorado. The Firebrand is where I first cultivated my true love of soups. Their fresh daily soups are often inspired by those found in the Moosewood Cookbooks, many of which would later become staples in my own kitchen.

For many years I sought out this recipe, and I won't bore you with the sordid tale of my quest. I even returned to the Firebrand, where they roughly scratched out the ingredients on the back of a napkin for me. It helped a little, but frankly at that time I wasn't creative enough to make that work without measurements. Finally it was featured on the Moosewood website and I think I left work early that day to buy all of the ingredients. Before the homebirths of both of my children, I made and froze Savannah Bisque to be shared as the first meal after the birth amongst my family and the birth attendants. I think most moms can attest to the fact that the first meal after giving birth tastes amazing, whether it is buttered toast or flaming crepes. But Savannah Bisque - well this soup just rocks for rebuilding some of that lost energy.

The recipe can be found here, in the archives of the Moosewood Collective. Just Ctrl F "Savannah" to find it. It's a bit down there. You'll probably find a few other things along the way that you might want to try. But make the bisque! I challenge you to make it this week, or this weekend, before it gets too warm out. I don't think you'll regret it. Please comment in the upcoming week and let me know how it goes. If you have a modified diet, I'd love to hear how the recipe turns out for you. I personally like to caramelize the onions and celery. I also recommend that after trying it once with the pimientos, you roast your own red bell pepper instead or using fresh roasted green chiles from your local farmer's market.

I think along with my soup delivery on Wednesday I'm going to take this sweet cheery little bird I stitched up today from some scraps. If you have any spare time, it's so simple. Two small contrasting scraps and some stuffing (I used organic bamboo fiberfill) - a little machine sewing and some handsewing on the tail and you're done! I also embroidered a tiny pink awareness ribbon on the tail for a little touch. I hope it brightens up her day and fills her soul just a little.


The free bird pattern can be found here at Spool. There are other great projects too, be sure to browse! I'm betting this bird would love a little safe bell tucked inside to make a sweet baby gift for my cousin's little one coming in a couple of weeks!