Comfort in a Jar

"Worries go down better with soup." - Jewish proverb -

People often complain of boredom when their days are uneventful, but it is the lucky individual who has no occasion to suffer the pitfalls of life.

My weekend started joyfully, with the arrival of my brother who took a long train ride to visit me. Among other things, we went to a rambunctious pierogi-making party hosted by my huggable friend, Gila. If you want to know how pierogi-making can ever be rambunctious, factor in over a dozen boisterous individuals, at least a few hundred pierogi wrappers, dozens of traditional and questionable choices of filling (the more absurd filling ideas having come about after considerable consumption of alcohol), and flour-dusted hands deliberately finding their way onto dark clothing. It was a major gaffe on my part to forget to bring my camera. I brought home some mystery pierogis at least, and will photograph and write about them when they get cooked.

Then came the wrenching news about my brother's beloved cat, who is in a veterinary hospital as I write this, fighting for his life. I won't get into details because it's none of my business to be writing about it here, but there were many long hours that felt like days during which some painful decisions had to be made. It brought back memories of my first cat, Peanut, who passed away a few years ago. I loved him more than anything or anyone in the world. Just writing about this makes me weep even today, so it's not a stretch for me to understand what my brother is going through right now.

Just before the weekend, my very dear friend and co-contributor here, Lynn, had given me a jar of her homemade cream of mushroom soup. I don't know precisely what went into it, but if I know her at all, she would have applied the principle of simplicity: fresh, simple ingredients -- nothing artificial -- that are long on aroma and flavor. The soup was the first thing my brother and I ate after the bad news. It was comfort in a jar. The canned variety often feels too heavy and loaded with preservatives. Lynn's soup was light but captured the essence of mushrooms. It was just what we needed.