What soup is for

Yesterday the fam and I had a warm fuzzy family day.  We visited MN Harvest Apple Orchard. The boys were thrilled.  It's about a half hour drive from home, so they got a nice snooze in the car.  We piled out and immediately went to visit Earl and donkey and his friends the sheep and the goat.  We bought our 1 Peck bag and loaded onto a wagon pulled by a "REAL TRACTOR!" to head out to orchards.

Urban was ecstatic and Beringer couldn't take his eyes off the tractor.

The irony of this excursion is that I am allergic to apples, so I bundled up against over-spray and was relegated to the post of picture taker (I will not even pretend to be a photographer).  The boys ate at least as many apples as went into the bag and couldn't decide which variety was their favorite.  (We have a hodge-podge of four different kinds at home now.)

Then, after we picked our peck, we headed over to Jim's Apple Stand for some fun that doesn't make me break out in hives...shopping!  We hauled home some apple smoked bacon, farm fresh honey, dandelion jelly (which is frickin' delish!), fig and strawberry preserves and assorted candies.

So, after a long day of animals, the great outdoors, lots of apples and lots of candy; everyone was ready for a low-key dinner.  I decided it was time for soup.  I wanted something that would be warm and comforting and maybe a little stomach settling too.  And, I LOVE SOUP.  It is my favorite this to both eat and make.  So, I decided on a version of Chinese 7 Happiness soup.  I, of course, did not have all the lovely ingredients it called for, so I winged it.

Here is what it consisted of:

64oz    chicken stock
1-2 T   chopped fresh ginger (I had some frozen from another recipe)
1/4 t     chopped garlic
2 chicken breasts sliced thinly
1/2 c    thinly sliced carrots
1/2 c    thinly sliced celery
1/2 c    thinly sliced onions
1 can   sliced water chestnuts
1 pkg  vermicelli rice noodles

I simmered all ingredients except the noodles and the water chestnuts for about 20 minutes, then added the noodles and chestnuts and simmered another 10.

It was hot and hearty with all the noodles – exactly what I was looking for.  And the best part is that all 5 members of the family tucked into this soup with gusto.  Urban exclaimed it's "deliciousness" and asked for seconds!  (This is the kid who will only eat the number of bites you dictate per meal.)  Beringer was covered in soup from head to toe because once he ate out all the chunks, he picked up the bowl and slurped the broth!  Everyone was warm and happy.

It made me so excited, because good, quiet conversation and a lot of slurping – that is what soup is for.