Soup and Shells

I decided to call this blog Soup and Shells. 

It is such an essential comfort food in my family.  Because it was the thing you had after coming in from hours of sledding on the Holden Hills golf course, because it was one of the first things I was able to make on the stove, because even picky kids (my sister) ate it, because it is the easiest thing to make when you are a poor college student, because it is good in hot weather or cold, because it is good with a sandwich or without, because the ingredients were often wrapped up and presented as a wedding shower gift, because it’s the meal so many of us had three weeks ago when we didn’t have her to talk to anymore… because it’s tomato soup and shells.

(Photo note - I set down this box by the stove, not realizing it was beside my grandmother's water mug in which I had taken home flowers a few weeks ago.  A Jungle Book mug is not required to make this - but if you have one, it will make you smile.)

The recipe isn’t complicated.  Basically, it’s

1 can of tomato soup

½ box of pasta shells (I used whole wheat)

   1.Cook the pasta. Do not drain. 

   2.Add the soup.

   3.Put in a bowl.  Add cheese.  Or don’t.

The most difficult part of this recipe, of course, was saving the Campbell Soup label.  I remember inside the cellar door, on the hooks where the aprons hung, was a plastic bag full of Campbell’s labels.  My mother would take them and give them to my school… which apparently was some sort of magic exchange program for supplies.  And in spite of the fact it’s been thirty years since we took that bag to Chaffins School, the labels are still good for a point that can earn educators supplies.  You can find out more about that here.

The best part of this recipe is how just one bite is comfort.  The perfect antidote to being confined in the house during a hurricane.  The perfect way to remember how easy it is to get warm after feeling cold.