Quick Soup For The Cold

We had this soup when Hcousins made it. It is much colder here than I can remember this time of the year and I thought to fight it with the warm soup. Measurements are not absolute. All depends on the taste that you want in your soup.

In The Mix

water - 6-7 cups

chicken bouillon cubes - 4 to 5
OR
Better Than Bouillon paste - 3-4 heaped tsp. (I used this)

fish fillet - 1/2 to 1 lbs washed and cubed (any white fish will do. Tilapia is a good choice)fresh ground pepper - 2-3 tsp or to taste (this must be ground/crushed fresh)
lemon juice - from 1 lemon
fresh grated ginger - from a 2" piece or more

cilantro - 2-3 sprigs chopped lightly

How To Do

Boil the water in a pot and add the bouillon cubes or paste. Stir together till well combined. Add fish pieces and boil 2-3 minutes. Check salt and add more bouillons/paste as needed for flavor. The salt comes from the bouillon so using reduced sodium version helps control the salt. Add the pepper and lemon juice. Boil once and add grated ginger. Add more ginger if you like as it can only help.  Boil some more till you can smell the ginger and pepper in the air. Add more water or other ingredients as taste demands. Add cilantro leaves, boil once and remove from heat. Serve hot, sit down, relax and enjoy as the warmth fills the cold, tired body and brings it back to life. As you drink more of the soup you should feel the gingery and peppery comfort lingering.

Welcome 2015!

Sculpture at Uffizi Gallery, Florence

We had celebrated Christmas at home mainly packing for our trip and having a quiet but busy day with church activities. Molu was invited by her voice teacher to sing the first solo that starts the Christmas Eve service at their Episcopal Church. She did a great job with this song in the church full of unfamiliar people.  Just got back from our visit to HAunt's house full of love and food. Kids were devastated as always to leave but are coping nowadays by thinking of the next time we meet. It is as cold in the bay area as it was warm in the east coast! I am still keeping our nativity set up. It emanates a warmth that I love to look upon these cold evenings.

The year went by rather quickly. Getting most of these two weeks as holidays was a much needed break from the feverish pace at work. My mom is starting to forget things as she is progressing in old age. Time to think of a visit to India to see her. Old age will catch up with all of us yet we all go through the youthful years with this thought rarely bothering us. Here is a road picture my daughter clicked for me from the car while traveling back from somewhere. I hope our lives will settle down in the end as peacefully as the sun set this day.

I also have some pictures of the cupcakes my daughter made for her class party. I am not exaggerating when I say it was all done by her including the little christmas tree on top to decorate the mini cupcakes. She used the recipe from a bakeware set we had bought for her.

She had added christmas colors to the cupcake batter which I thought looked very pretty! Of course we cannot see this once the frosting goes on top.

I made the usual appam and stew to celebrate Christmas. Took some of the fruitcake I had made with us for the visit to the east. My girl made the best tasting marshmallows with HAunt. I couldn't get pictures once they were cut into cubes and rolled in sugar. Here is a picture of the slab of goodness. 

HAunt and my girl also made cookies and icing and we all had fun decorating cookies. There is a Raphael in all of us:-)

While there we visited the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia.  It was good to see and read about all the deep feelings associated with it. Philadelphia served as this great nation's capital under two of its first presidents. George Washington & John Adams. At the suggestion of cousins who are Philly residents we gouged ourselves on philly cheese steaks(PCS) at Jim's Steak's. I had loved PCS the moment I tasted them at my university town in Fayetteville, Arkansas. But I could never get that taste back in any of the places I had tried here in Cali. This one blew me away. There is no equal to what we had here! My son was so enamored, he went for seconds despite the long line and my husband also joined him. The light fluffy bread and the tender moist beef are the secrets of this delectable dish.

When H visited China last year he had brought back a cute Budha. This morning when we woke up we saw light falling in such a way that the Budha was lighted. It was good to see the enlightened Budha first thing in the morning. 

Wish you all a wonderful year ahead with good times and cheer throughout.