Cooking For Joy
A Soup to Bring Warmth to Long Nights at Home
And to use up three pounds of beef
Editor’s Note: Heated has asked contributors to write about a dish they’re cooking that cuts through bleak headlines, forced isolation, and limited ingredients to bring them joy; we’ll be running at least one contribution a day through this social-distancing stretch.
Many months ago, my partner and I bought three pounds of locally raised beef — a well-intentioned, if ambitious, attempt to root ourselves more fully in local food systems. Then, amid the day-to-day rush, to say nothing of the steady pulse of new New Orleans restaurants, the meat lingered in the freezer. It finally became a hearty and comforting soup this week, rich with whole spices and a giant pile of buttered onions. Perhaps the soup defeated its purpose — it required two more trips to the store, first to buy anise pods, and then to buy the ramen noodles we assumed we had but lacked — but it still gave warmth to a long night in the house.
