Cooking soup with my husband reminds me of Mother Angelica
On a recent day my husband and I prepared to have my sister and her family over to watch the Lion’s football game. The weather that day provided us with a cold snap, snow and temperatures dipping into the single digits. We decided to make chili and soup for our guests.
My husband made chili and I made potato leek soup. I made potato leek soup for Christmas Eve dinner and decided to make it again. For some reason, I am getting into cooking with leeks lately.
We cooked our soup and chili at the same time. We both added spice to the pork and beef chili and I stirred the soup. At one point, my husband picked up the spoon he was stirring the chili with and began stirring the potato leek soup. To my horror (I am using the word lightly), I could not fathom mixing the two. The spoon that had remnants of tomato and spice created a streak of red in the potato leek soup. I remarked about it but my husband decided it was no big deal. In actuality, it really was not a big deal because the red of the chili was incorporated into the vast pot of the potato leek soup.
I had a flash of reckoning and remembered Mother Angelica at that instant. “That drop is like all of your sins, your weaknesses, your frailties and your imperfections. And the ocean is like My Mercy. If you looked for that drop, could you find it?” The drops of chili sins were swallowed up by the mercy of the potato leek soup. It’s funny how my mind works sometimes.
The Droplet of Water and God’s Mercy
Suddenly the wave crashed at my feet. … When I looked up, I noticed that a tiny droplet of water had hit the top of my hand. It was so beautiful. It glistened like a diamond in the sun.
The droplet affected me so deeply with its beauty that I felt unworthy of it, and to my own surprise, as I stood there, I threw it back into the ocean.
My odd little peace was broken when I felt the Lord say to me, “Angelica?”
I said, “Yes, Lord?”
“Did you see the drop?”
“That drop is like all of your sins, your weaknesses, your frailties and your imperfections. And the ocean is like My Mercy. If you looked for that drop, could you find it?”
I said, “No, Lord.”
And then He said to me, ever so quietly. “So why do you keep looking?”
Mother Angelica
Adapted from a chapter in Mother Angelica’s Answers, Not Promises: Straightforward Solutions to Life’s Puzzling Problems
Lenten Potato Leek Soup
Ingredients
- 8 medium Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled diced into 1/2-inch pieces
- 3 large leeks (about 3 cups, chopped) See notes in directions for chopping
- 4 cups vegetable broth (chicken broth may be used during the non-lenten season)
- 2 Tbsp. butter
- 1 tsp sea salt
- Pinch of dried marjoram or oregeno
- 1 or 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- dash of nutmeg
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley
- Slice leeks lengthwise and rinse dirt from folds. Chop the leaks (white and light green parts) and rinse the pieces in cold water several times to get remaining dirt out. Drain. Dark green tops may be discarded.
- Saute leeks in butter for about 10 minutes.
- Add potatoes, vegetable broth, salt, marjoram, thyme, bay leaf and cook for about 20 minutes until the potatoes are soft.
- Remove and discard the bay leaf and thyme sprigs.
- Puree the soup with an immersion blender or potato masher. It’s really good slightly chunky! May blend in a blender but needs to be done in parts and carefully since it is hot.
- Add chopped parsley and cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Add a dash of nutmeg, pepper, and salt to taste.
Thank you for the beautiful thoughts and also the yummy recipe❤️
I did not take a picture of the actual soup that I made. But it looked way yummier than the picture that I posted. It was so good!