Soup for the Busy

Oh, I'm bad. I can't believe it's mid December and I've been so negligent. But wouldn't you know I've got good excuses. First off, I'm sick. So unless you count packing peppermint tea into a mesh tea bag, I haven't really cooked a thing. Second, I'm writing term papers. But unless you want to know about the use of starvation in performance art, I'll skip over that one too. Although you've got to trust me, it's fascinating.

So where does that leave me?

Well, with soup. Being the busy sick bee I am, I received a generous supply of frozen chicken soup from my father. I'm a lover of chicken soup - homemade chicken soup. Not the yellow, salt vehicle they call soup at most soup joints. But this time I didn't feel like eating it straight, and I didn't have time for the rice/noodles bit, so I ended up making what might very well be my new favorite How to Cook Everything recipe after the orzo risotto. It's not really a chicken soup, per se, but a great use of the rich stock. And this recipe doesn't really require much in the way of formal analysis. In fact I should've been able to make this up on my own, but you see, I've got these few papers to write....

Spinach and Egg Soup (adapted from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything)

1lb spinach, well washed and picked over. (I used pre-washed baby spinach)

2T. butter

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Pinch freshly grated nutmeg

5 cups chicken, beef, or vegetable stock, or water, preferably warmed

2 eggs

At least 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Steam of simmer the spinach in a medium-to-large saucepan until it wilts. Cool it under cold water; squeeze it dry, and chop it finely. (NOTE: I just simmered the baby spinach in butter and started from the next step). Place the butter in a large, deep, saucepan and turn the heat to medium. When it melts, add the spinach, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Add the stock or water and bring to a boil.

Turn the heat to medium so that the soup is bubbling but not furiously. Mix the eggs with about 1/2 cheese, then add them to the soup in a steady stream. You want the eggs to "scramble," not just to thicken the soup, but you don't want them to lump up, so stir constantly. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the eggs are cooked and the soup is thick, 2 to 3 minutes. Serve with bread, passing more Parmesan at the table.