Today has been one of those days. In fact, yesterday was one of those days, too. Come to think of it, this has been one of those weeks. Although it won't hit the stands until May 7, the SFR staff has been working furiously for weeks to produce the glorious Annual Manual supplement. That means I've been living on junk food, coffee and not enough sleep for way, way too long. My brain is fried and my butt is sore from sitting at my desk for so long.
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I need a bath, a massage, a stiff drink and a nap. And after that nap I know exactly what I'm gonna want: something with vegetables in it. You remember vegetables, don't you? The food you cook at home. You remember cooking at home, don't you? I don't. All I know is that when your co-worker hands you a badly Xeroxed menu and asks you to put your initials next to something, there's a 99 percent chance that thing does not involve vegetables.
I think maybe I'm getting scurvy. Or rickets. Or both! I can't remember which is which, but I am positive that neither Cheetos nor Hershey's Miniatures (which comprised yesterday's dinner) contain any traceable amount of vitamins C or D. Plus, I'm pretty sure my body is trying to tell me something because I had a dream last night that involved me, wearing a flowered bathing cap like Esther Williams, swimming around in a giant salad bowl full of carrots, bell peppers and tomatoes. It looked like a V8 commercial. I woke up thirsty.
So this weekend, after all my work is done, after the bath, the massage, the stiff drink and the nap, I'm going to make a big batch of
pistou
. Have you ever had
pistou
? My mom used to make it when I was a kid, but I didn't know she was speaking French; I thought she was saying "pea stew." And there was no way I was gonna willingly eat something called pea stew.
Pistou
, of course, is a Provencal soup named for it's most striking ingredient: a French version of pesto. It's basically the same thing-fresh basil mashed together with garlic, salt and olive oil-but without nuts or cheese. This super yummy concoction gets stirred into a plain vegetable soup that really wouldn't be very exciting if a) it didn't have any pesto in it or b) you weren't possibly suffering from scurvy or rickets or both.
To be honest, vegetable soup is terribly underrated. (And by "vegetable soup," you know I mean homemade, right? 'Cuz that stuff that comes in a can tastes like mop water with celery chunks in it.) Made with a high-quality broth and a carefully selected variety of vegetables, it can have a surprisingly bright and complex flavor. Of course, the pesto helps.
So the next time you feel like you're verging on a serious vitamin deficiency, try your hand at pistou. Or better yet, get someone else to make it for you while you take a margarita-induced nap.
"So You've Got Scurvy" Soupe au Pistou
Did you know that ½ cup of chopped red bell peppers has more vitamin C than an orange? Now you do. When my mom makes
soupe au pistou
, she throws in every vegetable she can find-even things with funny names. Use whatever you want.
Makes 6 servings
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 well-washed leeks, sliced (white parts only)
- 1 fennel bulb, cored and coarsely chopped
- 2 quarts low-sodium chicken or vegetable stock
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 large potato, peeled and diced
- 1 large summer squash, diced
- ½ pound green beans, cut in 2-inch lengths
- 2 cups cooked white beans (cannellini, navy or Great Northern)
- 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1 cup pesto (pistou, whatever)
Pour the olive oil into a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, leeks and fennel and cook, stirring occasionally until the onions have softened.
Add the stock and bay leaves, and bring the mixture to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and simmer 30 minutes.
Add the potato, summer squash and green beans and simmer 20 minutes longer.
Add the white beans and tomatoes and cook 10 minutes longer. Season to taste with salt and pepper, but go easy on the salt.
Ladle the soup into bowls and let everyone add pesto to his own bowl.
Tell me where to eat! I need your input.
Send all of your tips, gripes and raves to
.