The Winter Solstice, the shortest day and longest night of the year, is a rich time to gather and mark the turning point when the dark gives way to the light. This symbolic time of rebirth and renewal is a magical opportunity to cook up traditions that will see us through our darkest season.

Soup Muses

Cooking meals that infuse warmth elevates the spirits. I like to evoke the muses of soup making, and return to the basics of root vegetables and legumes with greens to make chunky and pureed soups. A house with a bubbling pot of soup is a home. You know it’ll be filled with stories around the table, a crusty sourdough from the oven, and tapers dripping wax.

Solstice Vibe is Cozy

A Solstice soup simmers, not quick or flashy, taking its own sweet time. While I watch the falling light through the windows, my husband at his crossword and finally take up my crochet hook. It’s a satisfying lazy way to cook. There’s a respect for the simple pleasures that live in the winter kitchen. It allows us to doze, and fall deeper into the mystery of how the green shoots of spring, abundant growth of summer, and harvest sustain us now? It’s all about resting and cozy warmth. We support this vibe by slowing down, making soup and connecting with the austere beauty of the season.

Herbal Teas and Citrus 

Peppermint tea has powers, as does a hot herbal chai or a zingy ginger hibiscus punch with citrus slices. Cradling a mug of tea and chatting on the sofa heart to heart, with a bowl of satsumas to peel and savor between friends not only warms the tummy, but supports the relationship by creating sensorial memories and bonding.

Midwinter Greens with Splashes of Scarlet

Winter salads are on the solstice menu! Use lots of fresh greens like romaine, curly endive, arugula, baby kale, beet greens, chicory, radicchio and parsley. Grate, steam or roast turnips, celeriac, beets both red and golden, carrots, parsnips and cabbages both red and green. Use fruits like apples, pomegranates and citrus to add sparkle. Don’t forget the dried fruits— cranberries, blueberries and figs are indispensable. Walnuts, pecans, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and pistachios lend a crunch. Here’s an easy dressing: 4 tablespoons oil to 2 tablespoons rice vinegar, 1 teaspoon minced ginger, 1 clove garlic crushed, 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil and 1 teaspoon miso paste. Blend in a mini food processor.

Food and Fire 

Food and fire belong together. Maybe this solstice you’ll light an inside or backyard fire, and toast tiny bread and cheese sandwiches on skewers. It’s one of my family traditions, so yummy and fun. Try them with apple slices and sharp cheddar between rye. How about making a luminary, and reading aloud the Native American story “Raven Steals The Light,” a version illustrated by Bill Reid that’s at the library. Even a digital fire on the screen is fine, as long as you cuddle up, sipping your tea, eating a gingerbread cookie or two, with a book that takes place somewhere chilly, so you’ll appreciate where you live. To build an atmosphere between the fire and ice of the season, I search out images, books and oral stories about midwinter bonfire traditions, open hearth cooking and perhaps read aloud “Yule Poem‘’ by Raven Willow Rune. All my research adds to the ambiance cultivated between food, mood and gathering.

From my kitchen to yours, I wish you a Happy Solstice, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! May your holidays be filled with yumminess, peace, good health and joy. 

Winter Solstice Wild Mushroom and Tomato Bisque

Serves 4

Mirepoix

2 medium onions chopped

2 carrots cut into a small dice

2 celery ribs cut into a small dice

4 cloves garlic minced

¼ cup olive oil

Bisque

1 ounce dried wild mushrooms, or combinations of porcini and shiitake

28 oz. can of diced tomatoes

6 oz. can tomato paste

2 cups boiling water

1 cup heavy cream

2 teaspoons sea salt or to taste

1 ½ tablespoons sugar

Freshly ground black pepper to serve

Mushrooms

Soak the mushrooms in 2 cups of boiling water. When you finish the mirepoix, strain the mushroom broth and reserve the mushrooms.

Mirepoix

Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over a medium heat. Saute the onions for 10 minutes, add the carrots and celery and continue to saute until they’re soft and sweet about 10 minutes more. Add the garlic and cook for another 3 minutes or until it loses its bite. Turn off the heat and let it cool.

Finishing the bisque

1) In a blender, add the diced tomato, tomato paste, mirepoix, mushrooms and broth. Blend everything until velvety smooth.

2) Pour the bisque into a soup pot. Add the salt and sugar. Taste the soup and correct the flavors. Add the cream. Simmer the bisque on low until the flavors meld, making sure not to boil the cream.

It’s delicious right away, but the mushroom flavors develop with time and will be at their best the next day.

You can find more recipes from Sidonie on the Food Co-op blog “The Beet” at www.foodcoop.coop/recipes.