You Fill Up My Senses, Come Fill Me Again

Chicken Zoodle Soup

They don't all pan out but this was a victor of an idea.  Homemade chicken broth with zucchini noodles and shiitake mushrooms.  All the homey guests, carrots, onions, and celery were invited and the rich seasoned stock really hit the spot.

I was remembering the chicken and noodles that the nuns used to serve at Holy Spirit Elementary School.  It was such comfort fare, the overdone thick noodles and shredded chicken, sometimes you'd get a bone.  The other kids would complain but I knew this was a great sign that they had prepared it themselves from scratch.  This meant the broth was real.  They made all the meals in this amazing industrial kitchen where it felt like real care was being thrown down.  By the proud looks at serving time it seemed the ladies in charge of the food were the happiest of the lot.  Because of the property being an orphanage, the lay out was much homier than any other school.   There were separate dining rooms for each class, complete with hutches and kitchen area with painted cupboards. All with full pane windows, so your room would be warm and sunlit.  If I'm not mistaken we had real silverware and plates, cups, glasses and cloth napkins.  I loved lunch time so much.  I don't remember who I sat with, or if we talked or anything besides the food.  It was all about the selections on that tray.

Until it wasn't.  One year, lunch became highly unimportant and I took to skipping it most days with my friend Ann, in one of the many bathrooms or outside hidden areas on the vast grounds of the school.  Eejiot!

Holy Spirit Elementary School Fort Wayne, Indiana-partial