Turkey White Bean Cabbage Pantry Soup. Bob Dylan talks about the crossroads where he went somewhere and came back an accomplished musician, a better song-writer and an all around genius of a thief. Even the story isn't really his. But I love Bob Dylan. I love him and I've always wished I was him.
I could never cook anything for years until I was about 30. Making food never interested me in the least. Eating it was another story. My dream was to be an amazing guitar player since I was about 11 years old. I'd see someone like Duane Allman, Jeff Beck or Jimmy Page and yeah, something probably sparked in my girlhood too but mostly I was just focused on gettin' me some of what they had. I'd watch their every move, how they held the guitar, how they seemed to feel the music to make it come out of them. I really believed I had that in me. I thought that's what I was supposed to be. I got a guitar pronto. I took lessons. I practiced for years. Eventually I moved to California, got in two bands but could barely keep up with the other guitarists. They only took me because I was a girl and girl singers were filling bars. They let me play rhythm and I'd weasel into letting me take a lead here and there. I continued to try to get better, even though I knew no one took me seriously. But unfortunately, it became clear that I just didn't have natural talent. But in my defense, I was never in the right place at the right time. I never met the right musicians. I had no confidence. I was doubtful I'd ever figure out how to write a song or do anything beyond maybe get good at imitating some other player's talent. A big part of me never wants to truly believe that but somewhere along the way I put that guitar down. Much to my dismay no devil ever appeared in the road or offered me anything. Closest to was a guy named Unsell who appeared somehow as a buyer's assistant in our office at work one day. He kept needling me to go hang out with the buyers and have 'a' beer after 5 years of solid sobriety and I woke up a year later with a hangover that to this day has not gone away. Plus I lost most of my friends because I ended most nights by telling everyone 'to go F themselves'.
I was raised by two people that had great talent for making delicious food. I didn't own any of that either. But maybe from missing the taste so much I found a way to recreate dishes over the years and from there I gained some confidence to take my own chances. Its been very subtle, again no big landslide by any means, but I've developed skills and have hatched some meals that I am very proud of.
This isn't one of them although it is damn good. But I wanted to share a true crossroads moment when I discovered you can make quick pantry soups that taste like heaven just using a few simple ingredients and in a fraction of the time. For this one, chicken stock in a box, canned white beans, a head of cabbage, carrots, potatoes and little balls of ground turkey. The flavors are deep and rich. You can't tell its not the real deal.
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