Alchemy Stories

Making soup is alchemy—a brew made from the elementswhere fire, earth, air and water mingle to concoct a potionthat if seasoned well can hypnotize the senseswith its taste and nourishment.The mysteries of soup cannot be taughtby passing down a recipe of measurements.It’s more than slicing onions to be sizzledwith cut carrots, celery, green peppersthen sautéed until their essence bleedsand shines translucent from the heat....

Boiling bones in water from the spring,she’ d throw in onions,garlic, carrots with their tops,peelings she had left from other mealsand brew a broth where we could swim like fishup rivers of aroma.She’d chop up cabbagesand other roots and throw them inalong with beans she’d driedand let them simmer in the kettlehalf the day,stirring now and thenand sipping from a spoon,her eyes closed,searching for the taste she dreamed a...