It's Soup-er! (god, I'm so sorry for that. Not sorry enough to come up with a different title, though)

You know what's great about this time of year? Lots of things, but specifically for today? It's cool enough that eating soup feels like something a sane person would do. Yes. And you know what's great about soup? It's just about the easiest thing in the entire world.

Seriously, here's all you need to assemble a decent soup: stock (homemade if you're feeling fancy, but I just use the stuff in the carton), vegetables (mirepoix [carrots, onion, and celery] or the Cajun holy trinity [bell peppers, onion, and celery] are a good jumping-off point), something starchy like potatoes or beans, and some kind of protein (if you're vegetarian or vegan the beans and the protein can be one and the same). Maybe some herbs. That's all! Chop everything up into bite-sized pieces, saute the veggies, add the stock and let that all get to know each other for a few minutes, then add your starchiness and your protein and just leave it alone until you're ready for it. Maybe stir it now and then. Heck, throw it together in a Crock-Pot and you can forget about it for several hours. And then you have dinner! Throw in a green salad on the side and maybe some nice crusty bread and it's a darn well-balanced dinner at that.

If you want chili, it's the same basic process: saute your veggies and your spices (and your meat, if you include that), add water and beans (if you're a chili-with-beans person, I understand some people consider beans in chili to be a sacrilege) and bring that to a boil, add all the tomato-y stuff and then just let it go to town. Stir and taste occasionally. Make some cornbread while you're waiting. Easy-peasy.

But it doesn't stop there! If you're a small household and/or if you make enough soup or chili you've got another several days' worth of meals, either for near-future consumption or to freeze for later. I can only speak from the perspective of my one-person household, but it's weirdly comforting on cold days when I just don't feel like cooking to know that there's a serving of a lovely white bean and sage soup I could thaw out.

So yeah. Soup! Comforting, good for what ails you, and did I mention cheap? Well it is! Soup might be a perfect food, come to think of it. So give it a whirl! You'll probably never eat that canned crap again.

As for tomorrow ... well, tomorrow is a mystery. But whatever it is, it's going to be exciting. Probably. We'll find out together!

See you then. 
- Sarah