Almost twenty years ago, Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen took the idea of “comfort food” and used it to articulate the relationship between health and food, in the now-famous series Chicken Soup for the Soul. To millions of readers, the analogy of the title reaffirmed the connection between “comfort food” and our sense of well-being. The Webster dictionary defines comfort food as “food prepared in a traditional style having a usually nostalgic or sentimental appeal.” Sometimes when we least expect it, a special recipe, with its taste and texture, can trigger our senses and leave us content and satisfied. Part fable, part legend, the tale of Stone Soup is the storybook version of a comfort-food recipe. Published in 1947, Marcia Brown’s illustrated rendition of the classic folk tale was a Caldecott Honour Book. It tells the story of three soldiers returning home from the Napoleonic wars. The soldiers lit their campfire at the end of the day and asked some villagers for food, but the villagers were selfish and unwilling to share. So the legend goes that the soldiers filled their pot with water from a stream and placed it over the fire. Once the water was boiling they dropped a large stone into the pot. The people were curious and inquired what the soldiers were making. “Stone soup,” they replied.
The villagers watched as the soldiers took turns stirring the pot. Finally one of the soldiers tasted the soup. Turning to his friend, he suggested that it needed a little garnish. Quickly one of the villagers brought a few carrots and added them to the pot. The soldiers continued to stir and taste the broth. “It could use a pinch of salt,” they all agreed, and another curious villager brought some. Meat, vegetables and spices were added, until the soldiers finally declared it was ready. The villagers were so intrigued by the possibility of a stone turning into soup that they forgot their selfishness and, together with the solders, enjoyed a tasty meal - scarcely realizing that the soup had been the result of their own co-operation. There have been many adaptations of this old tale. In Scandinavia it is known as Nail Soup. In some versions, the soldiers are replaced by travellers; in Portugal it is a single monk. Canadian author Aubrey Davis, drawing from the Jewish tradition, created Bone Button Borscht, which is narrated by Barbara Budd and featured annually on the CBC on the first day of Hanukkah.
Ingredients: 1 large stone 1 large pot of water
Directions: Bring water to a boil, add stone, stir occasionally Serve with friends and strangers
Preparing a meal together brings its own enjoyment. The recipe for Stone Soup shows there is more to comfort food than simply eating.
Stone Soup By Jocelyn Burgener
culinairemagazine.ca
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