Gwendolyn Brooks said, “We are each other’s magnitude and bond.” I’ve been reading a book about libraries, how vital these spaces are to community knowledge. Susan Orlean makes an argument that libraries are the way we live out our human desire to be immortal and connected. “If something you learn or observe or imagine can be set down and saved, and if you can see your life reflected in previous lives, and can imagine it reflected in subsequent ones…you know that you are a part of a larger story that has shape and purpose—a tangible, familiar past and a constantly refreshed future.
We are all whispering, she writes, in a tin can on a string, but we are heard…writing a book, just like building a library, is an act of defiance. It’s a declaration that you believe in the persistence of memory.”
Cooking dinner, by contrast, is a declaration that you believe in the now, in mutability, in the succor of what will spoil if not consumed.
Poblano Chicken Corn Tortilla Soup
Adapted from Food Network
1 large onion, chopped
4 scallions, thinly sliced (white and green parts separated)
2 poblano chile peppers, chopped
1 1/4 cups frozen fire-roasted corn, thawed
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 handfuls corn tortilla chips
1 teaspoon ground coriander
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 10-ounce can diced tomatoes with green chiles
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1/4 cup light sour cream
- Combine the onion, scallion whites, poblanos, 3/4 cup corn and the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Season with a big pinch each of salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender but not browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the tortillas and coriander and cook, stirring, until combined, about 1 minute. Add the chicken broth and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Season the chicken with salt and add to the pot. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat; remove the chicken to a plate.
- Working in two batches, transfer the soup to a blender and carefully blend until very smooth (the liquid will be very hot). Clean out the pot and return the soup to the pot; season with salt.
- Shred the chicken with your fingers. Thin the sour cream with 1 tablespoon water. Heat the remaining 1/2 cup corn in the microwave until just hot, about 30 seconds.
- Divide the soup among bowls. Top with the sour cream, chicken, corn and scallion greens.
What goes well with chicken soup when you don’t feel well? A relaxing bath. The only answer for my bone pain after bone marrow stimulants is a hot bath. Jane Care sent a Relax gift kit which had bath bomb and aromatherapy candle and essential oils and soap!
Hyperlinked products have been gifted.