There Goes Somebody's Miracle...

You know, I'm praying for it.

  • Reviews
  • Food
  • Travel
  • Just This
  • About

Explore

  • All Reviews
  • Movies
  • Books
  • @ Third Coast Review
  • Film Work

Connect

Food · September 29, 2013

An 8-inch Pan

I am not making it up when I say I’m not a great cook. I have found ways to mess up recipes that would make even the most uninitiated chefs laugh. My mom loves to tell the story about the time I tried making chicken salad and, thinking I had it under control (and having failed to read the recipe closely), I added equal parts mayo and brown mustard. That’s like a quarter cup of brown mustard.

These are the ways I mess up in the kitchen. Creative ways, let’s say.

I have never in my life made soup from scratch. I wanted to try making soup last winter, but as I was sharing a kitchen with my landlord while in Utah, the only soup I ate came in cans and took 3 minutes to zap in the microwave. So this year, as the weather has started to cool and I’m nestling into Autumn in the city, I decided I’d like to try soup again. For the first time.

And in true form, I decided that I’d start not with a simple broth-based vegetable medley, but a hearty winter squash soup. I found a recipe on Smitten Kitchen (sans croutons), I made my list and headed to the store, and I came home to have a go at my first soup. (Yes, I realize that recipe has butter and some cream in it, and I’m trying not to eat dairy. I’m going to make an exception.)

There are many things I don’t know about making soup. Namely, all of them.

But anytime I’ve told anyone I’ve never made soup, they gasp in culinary shock and proclaim, “But it’s so easy!” I don’t know what to tell ya. Soup wasn’t one of the things my mom made for us growing up. Probably because soup wasn’t one of the things her mom made for her growing up. (Have you heard the one about the guy who asked his new wife why she always cut that last 2 inches of the fish off before putting the fillet in the pan? “You know, I don’t know,” she said. “It’s the way my mom always did it.” Curious, she asked her mom, who told her daughter, “It’s the way my mom always did it.” Now ever more curious, she asked her elderly mother why she always cut the last 2 inches off. “Because the fillets from the store were always 10 inches long, and all I had was an 8 inch pan.”)

But I digress…

I don’t know anything about making soups. And one important thing about soups is, before you make it you should be certain you have a large enough pan for said soup. Which I don’t. Which I didn’t really think about until I’d prepped all my ingredients. Chopped onion, minced garlic, fresh herbs, a huge bowl of chopped squash. And not a pan to fit it all in anywhere in sight.

What I don’t know about cooking, I make up for in math skills (says the Liberal Arts major…). Never one to let a tiny thing like a pan keep me from making my first soup, I halved everything and simply used the best pan on hand to make soup. Twice.

Once I sorted out that minor issue, making the soup really wasn’t all that hard. It’s time consuming, to be sure. Even without having to repeat the process, the onion chopping and squash peeling take some real elbow grease. Is that the part of cooking so many people enjoy? I knew it’d be a labor-intensive recipe, so when I saw the store had pre-peeled, pre-chopped butternut squash, I dropped the whole one in my basked like a hot potato!

squash soupBut that’s one shortcut you can’t even taste in the final product. Because it is delicious. Like, I’ve impressed myself with how good it is. Ok, yes – I had to google how best to get the leaves off fresh thyme. And I realized with the first batch that I forgot to add the ginger and cumin the recipe calls for. I’m clearly still a novice. I added the spices to that first go-round post-haste and wouldn’t you know, the soup was even more amazing than before.

Because it’s just me (and because I’m fairly certain Audrey doesn’t like winter squash soup), I will most likely be eating this new dish for the next week. But this soup is so dang good, I am more than OK with that. And you know what? Even with the hiccups in getting from ingredients to bowl, I’m gonna go ahead and give myself a healthy 7.5 on execution here – because let’s be honest, all that matters in the end is that you stick the landing!

Share this:

  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr

Posted By: Lisa Trifone · In: Food

Studying Screenwriting: Book 2
Giving you fair (cinematic) warning.

You’ll Also Love

Missing milk chocolate
Rolling in Dough
Turkey & Black Bean Chili

Get on the List

Comments

  1. Jeanne says

    October 3, 2013 at 3:29 pm

    Love this story and I LOVE squash soup!

    Loading...

Trackbacks

  1. It’s all in the bag | There Goes Somebody's Miracle says:
    October 1, 2013 at 7:46 am

    […] did a lot of cooking this weekend. Like, a lot. I made winter squash soup (an unparalleled success, btw); egg and ham breakfast cups; three dozen pumpkin muffins; roasted brussels sprouts; even […]

    Loading...
About Photo
Hello! I'm Lisa, and this is—or rather I am—Somebody's Miracle. Explore everything I'm watcing, reading and baking, all my far-flung adventures and ones closer to home. Thanks for reading.

Connect

Get on the List

Subscribe for the latest posts, musings and updates directly in your inbox.

Categories

  • Reviews
  • Food
  • Travel
  • Just This
  • About

Search

From the Archives

May 2025
S M T W T F S
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031
« Jul    

lisabeesa

Two years ago today, I was coming off what - until Two years ago today, I was coming off what - until that point - was the biggest adventure of my life. I bought a home. I turned 40. I spent a month in Paris. I’d hit a new career milestone. Life was every bit what I imagined it could be. 

Then I walked into a first date with a guy I met on the internet and very quickly realized my (our!) best adventure had just begun. 

Two years of getting my goat (and delighting in it), because you love to see me laugh. Two years of not just making dinners but plating them, too, because you know I like a pretty plate. Two years of grand gestures not because you’re big on gestures, but because I am.

I thought I had it all figured out, and I think I would’ve been fine if you’d never walked into my life. But good grief am I glad you did. ❤️
🎄 Holiday Playlist! 🎄 It's my favorite trad 🎄 Holiday Playlist! 🎄

It's my favorite tradition (of so many!) of the season: my annual holiday playlist. Twenty-four songs. Two hours of tunes.

Sabrina Carpenter and The Kinks. My Morning Jacket and Kacey Musgraves. Ben Folds and Bette Midler and Bad Religion. 

You can listen on Spotify at the link in my bio!

Happy, happy holidays to you and yours. Wishing you a joyful season!
I’d watch Pablo Larrain’s version of paint dry I’d watch Pablo Larrain’s version of paint drying, but thankfully his latest biopic of a famous, troubled woman (after JACKIE and SPENCER) is a far more engaging fever dream of passing time and missed opportunities.

MARIA, featuring a performance by Angelina Jolie that vibrates with vulnerability, is not perfect but it is fascinating. 

Now in theaters; on Netflix next month. Full review at the link!
My phone yelled at me this morning that I was out My phone yelled at me this morning that I was out of storage space, so over a couple cups of coffee I went back through this year’s photos and videos to purge what I don’t need on my device. 

Stumbled on this snap Brian took of me over dinner back in…June?…and honestly, I just love it. I love the way he sees me and I love the way I look when I see him. ❤️

Take care of each other. That’s all.
Eight years ago this week, @justin.f.brady and I w Eight years ago this week, @justin.f.brady and I went to see @waitressmusical on Broadway, and after the show we were treated to full band karaoke with die-hard fans. 

At the end of the show tunes lovefest, @sarabareilles—who wrote the show’s music and was hosting the karaoke—took to the mic to perform Brave, and it was more cathartic than I think any of us realized in the moment. 

It was the night before the 2016 election and none of us were (looking back now) as worried as we should have been. I had early voted, the wind seemed to be at @hillaryclinton’s back and we were ready for history to be made. 

I’ve thought about (and talked about) that moment a lot in the years since - it’s a great story! But especially today, as we’re on the eve of another monumental Election Day, I am imploring anyone reading this who may still be unsure or may not yet have a plan to be brave and vote for the person who is NOT a convicted criminal, serial sexual assaulter, con-man and dictator-in-waiting. @kamalaharris is the only way forward.

We can get back to debating policy in four years. For now, please vote for humanity, for democracy, for decency and for sanity. I wanna see you be brave.
Signs of life! 👋 I feel like I’ve been in a Signs of life! 👋 

I feel like I’ve been in a fog the last week or so, and it’s going to last at least through Tuesday…but I’m here, I promise!

Got to catch @musictheaterworks’ LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (with the lovely @yersha_la_la_la for company!) and it was delightful. Great production with just a hint of that community theater patina, a bit rough around the edges. (Is it just me or is that S in “Florist” totally upside down?!)

Full review coming soon at @thirdcoastreview!
This one gets a spot on the grid! Congrats to Drew This one gets a spot on the grid! Congrats to Drew and Jean on a beautiful wedding day and the start of an exciting new chapter. (But really, thanks for such a great reason to wear my new favorite dress! 😉)
I absolutely love this time of year. 🍂🍁 I absolutely love this time of year. 🍂🍁
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Site Disclosure

Copyright © 2025 There Goes Somebody's Miracle... · Theme by 17th Avenue

 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d