Warning – The story behind this soup is a long one. A melodrama in three acts as it were.
Act I
It all started with a chicken that I purchased some weeks ago, in order to get a single chicken liver to use in a Bolognese ragu. After removing the liver from the little packet stuffed inside the chicken, I put the neck back in the cavity, put the chicken in the freezer and made the Bolognese.
Act II
Two weeks later, I took the chicken out of the freezer, put it in a pot with some veggies and water and cooked it, giving me a meat to make soft tacos for the a couple of dinners and lunches. And also a gorgeous chicken broth, which I froze to use later.
Chicken Broth and Cooked Chicken
Instructions
- Wash chicken. Place it in a big soup pot along with chicken neck; an onion studded with 2 cloves and cut in half; a large leek, a large carrot and stalk of celery each cut into thirds; a turnip and parsnip cut into halves; a few sprigs of fresh thyme, and a handful of fresh parsley. Cover it all with cold water and for good luck add a small box of chicken bone broth (optional). Add a sprinkling of salt and pepper, simmer over low heat for a couple of hours till chicken is falling off the bone. Strain the broth, saving the chicken for later use, and refrigerate the broth overnight. De-fat and freeze in 3 cup batches.
All week I wondered what I should make with that broth. Motza ball or chicken noodle soup? Not in the mood for that. Risotto? Too heavy. White bean soup? Nah, not cold enough yet.
Act III
This morning, I sat down to get my costume ready for my friend’s birthday/Halloween bash tonight (sit down dinner, music and dancing). Its a big birthday for him, and I was excited to go. I was also kind of excited about our costume. We were going as a couple of idioms. I planned to tie apples, oranges and bananas from the bottom of my dress (low hanging fruit). Mr TBTAM would be a Catch 22 (No 22 pasted into a baseball glove, go Phils! ). Cute, right?
But first, as requested by our host of his guests, I did a rapid Covid test. And then I did another.
The results? Lets call them equivocal. (Here, see what you think, but know that the line in the pic is fainter than it looked in real life…)
I sent a pic of the results to my daughter, who works as a Covid liaison for the Department of Health, and her friends. It was unanimous – I was “positive”. I then uploaded the pic to the enormous text stream I have with my brothers and sisters and their spouses. They were unanimous. I was “negative”.
I had woken up feeling fine, but now, I was sure that I was starting to feel a little feverish, so I took my temp – normal. I did a third test, a different brand. An unequivocal negative.
What to do?
I think I’m probably negative. But, if I went to the party tonight and I’m an early positive, I’ve exposed a lot of folks to Covid, many of whom are in high risk groups. If I stayed home and I’m truly negative, the only evening that gets ruined is mine. I’d never forgive myself if someone got sick because of me, so I emailed our hosts my deep regrets. And immediately started to feel sorry for myself.
By this time, it was getting close to lunchtime. Mr TBTAM suggested grilled cheese – true comfort food for the woe begotten.
And then I knew what I had to make with the chicken broth. Cream of tomato soup.
But not rich, over buttery, cream-laden tomato soup. Something lighter, but with just a touch of creaminess. I didn’t have time to roast the tomatoes the way Cooks Illustrated and Ina Garten do, and as I will try next time I make this soup, but figured the home made broth more than made up for that. And I was right. The soup was wonderfully light but immensely flavorful.
The cheese sandwiches Mr TBTAM made us were also enlightened, using just and ounce or so of cheese for each, layered with tomatoes, red onion and a little mustard. He did toast them a little too dark, but I’m not complaining.
As we ate our delicious lunch, the warmth of the soup bathed my innards and I began to feel a little less morose. I sent some soup downstairs with Mr TBTAM to give to my daughter, who stopped briefly by on her way to Brooklyn with friends. She had it for her lunch, declared it a success and requested the recipe. That was all I needed to turn it into a great afternoon.
And tonight? Well, after all, it’s game 2 of the World Series, and the Phils won last night.
I think I’ll be fine.
ADDENDUM
Here’s my test from the next day. Unambiguously negative.
Enlightened Cream of Tomato Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 stalk celery, diced
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 tbsp flour
- 2 28 oz can San Marzano Tomatoes, chopped
- 3 cups Chicken Broth Preferably homemade
- 1 Tsp Sea salt Add more to taste
- 1 generous pinch saffron threads
- Ground pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup 2% milk
- 1/4 cup Half and half
Instructions
- In a large stockpot, melt butter over medium heat. Saute onions, garlic and celery till soft. Add flour and cook a minute. Add tomatoes, both and spices. Simmer uncovered for 40 mins.
- Remove from heat and puree with immersion blender till smooth. Stir in milk and half and half and return to heat. Heat and serve.
