Lavender Soup, Trivia Nights, and W. S. Di Piero
This week, when I’m not thinking about politics or news or survival, I’ve been thinking a lot about lavender.
Yes, this is a bit random, but I like randomness in a digital world that feels a bit too curated at times.
I’ve always wanted to plant lavender and this year, I did and it was—it gave me hope whenever I saw its purple blooms, smelled its distinctive mix of sweet and citrus and woodsy earth, that calm of it.
Lavender makes me calm. Its like one of those YouTube videos that just buzz at the right vibration to help chill out your brain.
And lavender makes me think of my nana, who always smelled of it and grew it and would exclaim about it.
“Look at how things grow, Carrie,” she’d tell me. “They just come up from the earth and reach toward the sun.”
She admired plants that grew despite everything and kept hanging on—despite everything. She was, for this reason, also a big fan of rhubarb and lilacs.
I like to hope/think/believe that people can be like that, too: growing despite everything, hanging on despite everything. There is comfort in that hope.
THE POEM
“Lavender All Over Again" is from Poetry’s 2007 edition and it’s by W. S. Di Piero. You can find it in digital form on the Poetry Foundation’s site.
PHOTO FROM MY WEEK
I left the house! And I went to a local bar/restaurant to play trivia. The world outside was ice sheets, hard snow, and surfaces that really wanted you to fall down and break a hip.
For a second, the trip from just the truck to the threshold of the establishment felt like too much, you know? It was like—hm, is this worth the risk.
It was.
I met two nice people, talked to old friends and watched it as everyone crushed it at trivia. It was warm inside and funny and happy even when people got answers wrong (or the team got them wrong even when they knew they—personally—were right).
There’s an old Anne Lamott quote where she writes, “You can either practice being right or practice being kind.”
Playing trivia as a team helps you remember that.
SOME BONUS HAPPINESS
THE SOUP
This beautiful soup is copied word for word from the Lavender Ranch in California.
WHAT GOES IN IT:
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 ½ tbsp dried culinary lavender
¼ pound unsalted butter
6 leeks, cut in half lengthwise and thinly sliced (white and pale green parts only)
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
16 cups chicken broth
3 fresh medium poblano chili peppers, roasted, peeled, seed, and chopped
1 tbsp black peppercorns
2 cups heavy cream
HOW TO MAKE IT
Toast cumin in a dry skillet over medium heat until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
Transfer to a spice grinder and add the lavender. Pulse until finely ground.
Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat.
Add the leeks, carrots, celery, and garlic.
Cook for 5 minutes, or until the leeks are soft.
Stir in the flour.
Add broth, potatoes, poblano peppers, chipotle pepper and lavender mixture.
Tie up the peppercorns and bay leaves in cheesecloth and add to the pot.
Simmer for 25 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Remove and discard cheesecloth bundle.
Use a handheld blend or a food process (work in batches) to blend soup until smooth.
Stir in the cream.
Season with salt and pepper & ladle into individual bowls; sprinkle with the green onions and/or extra lavender blossoms.