'Til Death Do Us Part

It was a Tuesday afternoon when my phone lit up. It had been months... at least it had been well before the holidays since my close friend (and neighbor) had been in contact. His name lit up my phone with "Prison City" identified underneath as the "organization." In reality, it was the pub where we had first met nearly 5 years ago. I had been on a date... with someone else. Sipping water. He was eating alone, watching sports and pretending he wasn't observing my date "gone wrong." As my date proceeded to succumb to his beverage of choice (hint: not water), Chris (alias) gradually got bolder and snuck in side conversations with me.

Needless to say, we became fast friends after he clarified "I never do this" and slipped his number over to me while my date was in the bathroom for the umpteenth time. We began hanging out, our time typically defined by watching shows or movies, cooking dinner together, or attempting the daily crossword puzzles under sunset on my back deck while listening to yacht rock radio. We may be the only duo to have ever completed a Sunday crossword in PEN (yes, I'm going to flex).

So when I answered the phone, I figured he had been under the weather, busy with work, or consumed with fishing/hunting (his favorite bachelor activity). Little did I expect that his senior father had been committed to hospice after having fallen ill.

"What can I do? What do you need?"...

Of course, he responded with "Nothing."

I poked some more and finally his guard came down and his resolve kicked in .

"Can you make soup?" Yes. I absolutely could make him soup. Unprepared for the task, I quickly ordered some missing ingredients and decided to make a soup out of one of my favorite comfort dinners: Tuscan Chicken (others call it "Marry Me Chicken").

Ingredients:

1 rotisserie chicken (fastest way! but feel free to make your own chicken)

1 can tomato paste (6 o.z.)

1 medium yellow onion, diced

pepper, to taste

1 tsp. garlic powder (you can use fresh, this is what I had on hand)

1 tsp. dried thyme (again, feel free to use fresh!)

1 quart chicken stock

2 cups water

1/3 cup sundried tomatoes, chopped

3 cups shredded chicken (I honestly probably used slightly less than that)

a handful of bowtie pasta (careful it expands, but about 1 c. should be plenty)

Add at the end:

1/2 c. heavy cream

1/3 c. grated parmesan

2 c. spinach

Instructions:

1. Heat a large heavy bottom pot or Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the olive oil, onion, and ¼ teaspoon salt and black pepper. Cook until the onion begins to soften, about 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently.
2. Sprinkle the onion with the garlic powder and thyme, then cook until fragrant, about one minute, stirring constantly. Add the tomato paste and cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly.
3. Add the chicken stock and 2 cups of water, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add 2 teaspoons salt, sun dried tomatoes, and chicken, stirring to combine. Cover, and bring to a rolling boil.
4. Add the pasta, stirring to ensure the pasta doesn’t stick. Cover, reduce to a strong simmer, and cook until the pasta is just cooked through, about 8-15 minutes, depending on the pasta shape. Uncover and stir occasionally to prevent the pasta from sticking together or anything sticking to the bottom of the pan.
5. Turn the heat off, uncover, and add the cream, parmesan cheese, and spinach, stirring to combine. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.

He didn't contact me that night to come and pick up the containers of soup. I packaged everything up into and popped it into the fridge, letting him know it was here. The following day, I received a text message around lunchtime that his father had passed that morning, and he was on his way to get the soup. Neatly compartmentalized and with hearty tuscan bread, I sent him away with a bag of food that he later said was "hearty, delicious, and lasted more than three meals."

I hope you enjoy, not in sadness, but in good health and happiness! Bon Appetit!