This morning I received an email from a friend of mine who is a personal chef, Queen of the Pantry,and she mentioned that she is presently cooking for a friend of hers who is battling pancreatic cancer. My heart sunk and it reminded me when I, along with other people, was a care taker for a dear friend who battled a rare cancer, thymus carcinoma, almost nine years ago. After her sudden diagnosis, she had pulled together a group of trusted acquaintances and friends whom she knew would be there for her in one role or another through this ordeal which eventually claimed her life…too soon! Besides being beautiful she was also one of the most intelligent people I had ever met, both left and right brain, well read, talented and extremely charismatic. She had such an aura, when she walked into a room, people noticed. She organized us so some of us would be with her at her appointments, others would do the food shopping, others would cook and be there for her etc…Over the course of her illness, I cooked for her but what resonated most with her was my soup. A vegetable soup my mother made all my life growing up in France, using a pressure cooker to keep all the nutrients in. It’s a basic soup but it always made her feel good as it was easy to digest as I blend it using a hand blender. My father used to say that if one has bread, soup and water on the table it meets one’s basic needs for a meal; simple, but I thing true.
So in the spirit of friendship, here is my version of the basic soup recipe:
5 potatoes
2 sweet potatoes
3 carrots
1 leek
Celery leaves
some lettuce or escarole leaves
Salt
Pepper
Wash and peel vegetables then cover them with water in a pot or in the pressure cooker and cook until all vegetables are soft. If using a pressure cooker, wait until all the steam is out before opening the pot. If cooking the conventional way, wait until all vegetables are soft and then use the hand blender to create a soft soup. When serving, you can add a drop of olive oil or a tea spoon of crème fraiche.
I start making this soup in the fall and do so all the way through the spring. There is nothing like a good soup to warm your heart and soul and to feed a sick friend.
In friendship, enjoy!!
Thefriendshipproject's Blog 
Looks delicious! I also love your Father’s comment, that is so true.
As a personal chef and caretaker myself, I have always found soups to be so very comforting. Having cooked and cared for friends, my Mom and clients with cancer it seems that soups are always a winner for several reasons. Not only are they a way to get a variety of vegetables, protein and antioxidants in one meal, they are much easier to swallow and digest than a full meal.
For those who are going through any sort of treatment, it can be very difficult to manage the loss of appetite coupled with the need for keeping your body nourished and strong. Soups can provide a simple solution to this. They also freeze and store really well so they can be enjoyed at anytime.
Here is one soup I make that I enjoy myself as well! I make variations of it with different squash and fruit depending on what’s in season. The original is a recipe by Rebecca Katz.
Be well and enjoy!
yvette
Butternut Squash Soup with Asian Pear, Apple and Ginger
¼ tsp Allspice, Cinnamon, Sea salt, red pepper flakes (optional), nutmeg
2 butternut squash (or 1 butternut and 1 acorn, delicate or hubbard)
Yellow onion (I like Vidalia)
1 T shallot minced
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
2 Asian pears peeled and chopped
1 Rome or Fiji apple peeled and chopped
8-19 cups organic vegetable broth
Agave syrup
Roasted pumpkin seeds for garnish
Oven 425
Whisk spices, pepper, salt with 1 T olive oil and brush halves of squash. Roast cut side down 30 min and cool.
In a pot, sauté onions and remaining spice mix over medium heat until golden brown. Add shallots and sauté 3 min. Add pears, apple, ginger and sauté 3-5 min. As mix starts to brown and stick to bottom of pan, deglaze with 1 cup broth. Losen bits, add 3 more cups and simmer gently.
Scoop squash flesh into pan and mash with a potato masher. Add about 1-2 T Agave syrup. Add 4 more cups broth and simmer 15 min. Ladle into blender in small batches and puree until smooth. May need pinch salt, Agave or lemon.
It is wonderful when a person that is dealing with serious illness has good friends around. It is of course a difficult experience, but it can also be filled with wonderful new memories full of love and laughter.
You obviously created a wonderful memories during this time helping your friend and the vegetable soup is one of them. Isn’t interesting how a simple soup like that has so many good memories attached to it.
Now it will go viral and create more good memories for more people.
Love and peace,
ElinAnna
http://www.fromunderearningtoabundance.com
Great recipe to add and indeed all the nutritional benefits along with the emotional ones that soups can bring. Thank you!