Andrea's Delicious Root Vegetable Soup

Hubert cracks an egg.

“Desperate times call for desperate measures.”

Not just wars, famines, plagues, and economic downturns for us; desperate times in our home means post –op knee replacement recup!

Desperate measures found Hubert playing master chef as I laid around groaning and whining. My 60- something-year-old German partner made a mean fried onions and egg with toast breakfast, fried onions and egg with toast lunch, and fried onions and egg with toast dinner.The menu also included any  take-out I desired. Hubert’s effort and willingness to cook and gather earned him an A+ !

However, after a couple of weeks of Hubert Cuisine, I needed REAL food. Andrea to the rescue – again!

Loaded with grocery bags, she just appeared at the door. The house became filled with sounds of chopping and stirring, and the sweet mouth- watering fragrance of caramelizing root veggies in the hot oven. Life was good again. I laid on the couch, icing my knee, and waiting....

Dinner was almost ready; once the veggies were blended into the stock, we’d be slurping. I heard the button on the blender click and the machine started; suddenly, a scream, and all hell in the kitchen. Flinging aside the icepack I rushed (hobbled, quickly) to the kitchen.

The top of the blender had come off and there was hot soup on everything: the coffee-coloured glass tiles on the backsplash, the stainless steel stove, the stove hood fan, the cupboards, the floor and even the window on the other side of the kitchen.

Hot soup on everything, including Andrea. There was soup in her hair, on her face, all over her arms, and dripping off her T-shirt. She looked...shocked. She didn’t say much as we got the soup washed off her face, and I got her into one of my XL tees. Then she started to cry - for a long time.

Turns out that sometimes we just need a reason to cry. A hot soup burn, or any other unexpected incident, on any scale of magnitude, may be the catalyst we’ve been waiting for to finally release whatever’s inside.

 So, while Andrea let go of life’s gak and  I sat next to her icing my knee, Hubert cleaned the kitchen, finished blending the soup, and made fried onions and egg with toast. 

The perfect dinner – soup, eggs, and family.

What did  I love most about that day? Andrea came bearing food to take care of us, and then we took care of her – just the way it’s supposed to be, everyone taking care of each other.  It’s great, isn’t it?

I’m not sure of the origin of Andrea’s dish of kindness so I’m calling it “Andrea’s Delicious Root Vegetable Soup". Here's the recipe, in her own words.

Andrea’s Delicious Root Vegetable Soup

1 pound carrots

1 pound parsnips

1 large sweet potato

1 small butternut squash (it’s easier if you just buy the pre-cut pre-packaged kind)

3 tbsp. olive oil

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground pepper

2 tbsp. fresh parsley

1-2 containers of prepared chicken or veggie stock ( somewhere around 4-8 cups)

Preheat the oven to 425.  

Cut the carrots, parsnips, potato and squash into large (1 inch) cubes.  Don't cut these too small; they will shrink while roasting.

Place veggies in single layers on 2 cookie sheets.  Drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper.  Toss well (you can always do this in a bowl and then distribute veggies on cookie sheets).

Bake for 25-35 minutes until veggies are tender, turning once.

 Remove the veggies from the oven.  Cool (highly recommend :) then add to a blender and blend small amounts at a time with small amounts of cool chicken broth.  Transfer to pot.  Add enough stock to bring the soup to desired consistency. Heat , add in parsley and serve.

In the meantime,  making myself cry when I need to shed just a few tears is effortless. I listen to Ukrainian folksongs by Kvitka Cisyk ( makes me think of my late, dear dad John Kurchak); I watch inspiring youtube videos about people overcoming disabilities to obtain victory; I try on clothes that used to fit.