This is a chapter from my sixth book called Alphabet Soup - A different kind of cook book
It is a cold rainy day in Trinidad. Perfect weather for a soup and maybe a laugh or two. Both things being good for the soul. I think we started saying that soup is good for the soul just because the words share similar sounds. Even though they rhyme at the beginning instead of the end. I learnt that this is called a near rhyme or slant rhyme. My friend Gemini tells me that while there's no scientific evidence to prove that soup literally heals the soul, its ability to provide comfort, warmth, and nourishment has made it a beloved symbol of care and well-being. Now here is the joke. I asked the cook to give me a cook joke. He combined joke and cook and came back with jook. If you knew that jook is a Cantonese dish you would have gotten the joke. When done well it should have a soupy and runny texture. It is also called rice soup. Maybe you thought of jook in the Trinidadian sense of to take a jook (or wine) and that would also be funny. A dancing cook. Soup is good for the soul but soca is also good for the soul. Soca is actually a combination of soul and calypso.
I came across an Akan proverb and also the title of a popular Ghanaian cookbook that says a good soup attracts chairs. It suggests that when something is good it attracts attention and builds community. I guess we could also say that a good soup attracts cheers. Cheers to the good life with soup. I also learnt of another proverb that goes like the good soup comes from the good earth. This suggests that we use earthy and natural ingredients in our soup. Speaking of community, have you ever wondered about the story behind soup kitchens? My friend Gemini tells me that soup kitchens got their name because, historically, they primarily served soup and bread to hungry people. Soup was a cheap and easy way to feed large numbers of people. It could be made in bulk, was filling, and could be stretched by adding water. These kitchens emerged during times of hardship like the Great Depression. I understand the part about being stretched with water because I have come across a hadith from Islam that goes, "If you cook broth, increase the amount of liquid in it and give some to your neighbors". Some translations that I saw say soup and some say stew.
In Trinidad we have a love affair with corn soup. I read one article that said that Trinidad corn soup can cure anything. I need a cure for my funny bone. I cannot seem to want to stop sharing jokes. Here is a corny soup joke. Literally and figuratively. What do you call a corn that is really good at karate? A souperstar. I remember the great floods of 2018 when they went around the village serving corn soup. They have not done that since. I guess the storms of life really do bring people together. You have heard of storm in a teacup but did you know that soup can also be served in a teacup? One writer came with sophistication when he wrote, "How to serve a demitasse of delicacy during the hearty winter season". I am trini so I will substitute rainy season for winter in my understanding. They say that too many cooks spoil the soup. I guess I could say that too many words spoil the chapter. I should take the pot off the stove now. I know a cook who makes the most wonderful soup. I describe it as soupercalifragilisticexpialidocious. Seems like a word that uses all letters of the alphabet but I checked and it does not. It only uses 17 distinct letters. It is a letter salad to go with my soup.
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