Italian marriage proposal soup
By Elizabeth Brown Kitchen Vixen
AFTER ALL THESE YEARS IT FINALLY happened. I got my first marriage proposal. The secret, ladies, is in the soup. I made a soup so good that it caused a man to propose marriage. Who knew it was that easy? You’ve heard of Italian Wedding Soup, right? Well, I can’t promise a wedding but a proposal of marriage is a possibility.
I have been trying to decide how to best put my skills to use; as a clinical dietitian who can help people with medical conditions, as a holistic chef who can cook disease fighting energy enhancing food for people or teach them how to do it themselves, as a personal trainer which is how this whole profession got started more than 20 years ago, or as a writer, like I am doing now and have done when I worked in publishing.
For some reason, people keep trying to steer me in the direction of being a personal chef. I tried it a few months ago. I was hired by a wealthy client in Malibu. It was nice, sometimes, but also sometimes stressful, often times humbling, to be someone’s “servant.” To cook for a man and his children, a family that was not mine. I tried to look at it as having the opportunity to put love into my food for these people who have more money than God but who don’t really know how to love, but I wasn’t really appreciated.
I fell in his house and broke my foot and the gig was over. I knew in my heart that this was not meant to be. I got my “break” from this situation and a chance to re-evaluate my life.
One afternoon I received a call from an actress who was being trained by Frankie, one of the “trainer’s to the stars” from my gym. It seems that the chef they had been using for their clients, who was also named Elizabeth, also broke her foot and could not cook. Desperate to keep his clients in “lean mode”he thought that perhaps I could jump in. I didn’t want the job, but thought it could be fun to try some of his recipes.
One is called “Champion Stew.” I made some and left it at the gym for Frankie to try. The next day as I was working out, Frankie walked over to me and said, “I have to ask you to marry me. When I ate it I thought to myself, I have to ask this woman to marry me.”
It really is not a difficult recipe, just a soup chock full of nutritious vegetables. But what makes it so special is the intention behind it. I did not make it for money. I made it out of love. Intention is the most important ingredient of all. When you make this soup, don’t focus on the specific ingredients or techniques, simply focus on your intentions for making it and if they are good, your “Champion Stew” will be great and you too may get a marriage proposal.
ELIZABETH BROWN is a registered dietitian, certified holistic chef, weight management specialist and personal trainer in Santa Monica. She 1 cup dry lentils (prepare with 3 cups water or brewed tea & 1 piece Kombu) 2 cups chopped carrots 6 stalks celery, chopped (including leaves) 1 cup small diced potatoes 1 (16oz) bag frozen corn 1 (16oz) bag frozen green beans 1 yellow onion, chopped 1 Tbsp Tamari or Bragg’s Liquid Amino Acids 2 Bay leaves 1 bunch fresh parsley chopped Plus whatever fresh herbs you wish to use up. I also included fresh dill & sage 1 Tbsp dried oregano 1 tsp ground thyme 1 tsp marjoram 32 oz organic vegetable broth 4 cups filtered water 28 oz can organic diced tomatoes 1) Prepare the lentils by rinsing them in a sieve first. Add lentils & water to a medium size sauce pot. Cover with a lid. 2) Bring to a boil & reduce to simmer. Keep covered. Cook on low to avoid bubbling over. 3)While lentils are cooking, wash and chop the vegetables 4) Place each chopped vegetable into individual bowls 5) Heat 1 cup water in a skillet that is about 11” round X 3” deep 6) Add onion and heat until fragrant, stirring constantly 7) Add the potatoes, carrots, celery and more water as needed. Steam sauté for about 10 minutes. Cover with a lid. 8) Add the Tamari, the bay leaves and the dry herbs. Stir to blend flavors 9) Add the corn & green beans & stir 10) Add half of the vegetable broth, replace the lid and allow to steam sauté for 10 minutes. Check after five minutes and stir. Add more liquid as needed to prevent ingredients from sticking 11) When the lentils are done, remove from heat. Remove the Kombu & cut into pieces. Add chopped Kombu back to lentils. 12) I keep lentils in a separate container in the fridge & add to the soup each time I heat up a bowl. 13) Pour the tomatoes into a bowl and mash with a Potato masher 14) Add the tomatoes to the sauté pan with the other ingredients. Add the rest of the broth & simmer. 15) Allow the soup to simmer on low heat for about 30 more minutes. Stir every 10 minutes. 16) When the soup is done, be sure to taste it and add more seasonings or liquid as needed.
Per serving: 1 cup, 90 calories, 1g fat, 15g Carbs, 4g Fiber, 5g Protein, 90 percent DV Vitamin A, 15 percent Vitamin C, 18 percent Folate and greater than percent DV for every Vitamin & mineral except for B12. Add 1 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast Flakes for a Vegetarian source of B12.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 19, 2008. Read the original PDF.