Today I am thankful for my mother’s soups and chili. Now that the weather is starting to cool down and it is drawing closer to the holidays, I am starting to think more and more about some of my favorite meals that my mother makes. I do not get to enjoy my mother’s home cooking as often as I would like now, but when I do have the opportunity to partake of my mother’s cooking it more than makes up for that.
As I am sitting here thinking about the many special dishes in my mother’s repertoire my mind is immediately inundated with thoughts of my mother’s soups and chili. The particular soup that I am thinking of is a creamy one that she makes with chicken and vegetables. I am not quite sure how she makes it, but when she does it is comfort food at its best. I remember when she most recently made a batch of it while visiting me. It had been a long and busy work day, and by the time that I arrived at home I was very hungry and exhausted. I had no idea that my mother had cooked for us, so you can imagine my pleasant surprise when I opened the door and the aroma of her perfect soup greeted me. My stomach did a back handspring in appreciation and my heart was flooded with joy. That simple act of love on my mother’s part erased the day’s troubles from my mind immediately, and her soup brought a smile to my face and a satisfying sense of being full to my stomach.
I experienced something similar when, during a completely separate one of my mother’s visits, I came home from work to find that she had prepared her homemade chili. Now I have always enjoyed chili, especially the chili that my mother prepares, and that chili was the perfect end to that cold and busy December day. As I sit here thinking about that chili I can practically taste the kidney beans, ground turkey, onions, and the medley of other ingredients that came together in that pot that day. Once again, I had no advance notice of my mother’s plan to prepare dinner, though I really should not have been surprised, because she naturally has a tendency to cook for me even though she is the one visiting me.
Maybe I will call her up, ask her for the recipes for her soups and chili, and then prepare them in her honor. And who knows, maybe I will cook them for her during her next visit. Now that sounds like a tasty plan to me. #lovebythedrop
love by the drop 