Solidarity, Care, and a Bowl of Soup
This Winter, Rē is offering a mini Soup Series, where we are sharing some of our favorite soup recipes.... and a story to go with them Soup'n'Story Time! Soup means so many things. Warmth. Comfort. Hope. Leftovers and freshness and community. Recovery from being sick or a meal for a potluck. The perfect food for regeneration! And it is so delicious!
This week, we are sharing a soup recipe from someone who is part of our wider community. We appreciate her sharing this with us. She has requested that we preserve the anonymity of everyone involved.
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These past two weeks, whenever people ask me how I’m doing, I borrow an adage from a good friend: “Hanging in there,” I respond.
For me, existing in the United States as a Mexican-American woman, this January has felt at once long and short — my body has experienced years, not days, while my environment shifts at a breakneck pace. I understood this was coming, but it doesn’t make things easier. I believe the recent actions of our government are intentionally leveraging generational traumas to sow chaos, fear, and disharmony in communities. The word that comes to mind over and over for me: “Insidious.”
I look around, and I see so clearly: We respond in the ways of our ancestors. Though there are marks of trauma from a border that crossed us, loss of generational wealth from unequal systems, and ugly instances of forced forgetting, our collective hands can carry much more than just that. Our bones carry pathways to survival mapped centuries ago.
We figure out food drop-offs, check in (sometimes obsessively) on our elders and loved ones, print red cards, translate documents, keep our heads down, keep watch, and keep going. “This is just how we are,” says my mom. “It’s not just for me, it’s for my family,” says a young friend. “We need to check in on our friends, to make sure the Medicaid thing isn’t affecting them too bad,” says another friend - and she means the neighbors, who are white, but also ended up in the same tax bracket we did.
It may be understood that community care is a responsibility (and also a joy), but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. This takes energy! If you’ve ever done this sort of work with your community, you know how busy it is on a Good Day. When sh*t hits the fan, especially in the ramp-up phase (when we’re still figuring out what actions are most needed), it can be… a lot. Early mornings, late nights, meetings between meetings, misspelled words, and a kitchen counter that serves as a graveyard for dirty dishes.
So when my friend G (who is not Mexican, but is Native, and is also one hell of a cook) sent soup one chilly afternoon by way of their partner, I stopped for a beat. I let the bowl warm my hand and I took a moment to remember one important thing: This is how we survive. Not just by carrying the weight of the world, but by sharing it.*
We show up for one another, not because it’s easy, but because it’s necessary. That’s solidarity. That’s community.
Thanks, G, for the boost (and for letting me share your recipe).
With love,
¡Sí se puede!
* Also, this is me calling on you to assist. Able cis white folk especially - lighten the load of the black, brown, and marginalized people who have historically carried this work. If it is at all within your ability now is the time to take action, share resources, and follow the lead of those who have been here before.
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Community Care Soup
3lbs beef stew meat
1qt 1pt slivered celery
1 qt shivered carrots
1 onion. White or yellow.
1 1/2 tbsp garlic
1 small can tomato paste.
8c veggie broth
Thickener (Example: potato starch)
Whatever seasoning you want. (G used Kinder’s garlic and herbs that are salt-free and Kinder’s prime steak.)
Salt.
Sear the meat and put it into a heavy-bottomed stock pot. Add stock and bring to a boil.
Sweat the onions and garlic in the same pan that you used to sear the meat. Make a well in the pan and add a little more oil and add the tomato paste. Cook for a minute and add to the steak.
Add the remaining veggies and season those to scrape the remaining paste if it is stuck in the pan.
Add veggies to the pot.
Cook for a while.
Add the thickener. G used potato starch to make it gluten-free.
Cook until the meat is tender if it tastes like too much tomatoes just add more seasoning.
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