Cooking for love

an inspiring autistic woman I know

describes her love language as ‘cooking’

I’ve accumulated enough culinary experience to confirm

food does taste much better

when made with love

(perhaps it’s not worth eating

if it’s not)

in honour of this woman

and the love she expresses

through her cooking,

I offer you hints on how to cook

my favourite soup

(because I can’t follow a recipe,

they truly are just hints)

it’s a chorizo, sweet potato and red lentil soup

you’ll need: oil, garlic, two chorizo sausages, one sweet potato, split red lentils, a can of crushed tomatoes, water (or stock), salt, smoked paprika and parsley

you’ll need: an overflowing of love from your heart to your hands as you cook

the soup will benefit from: you listening to your favourite music as you cook

(an added bonus if you also dance in the process)

if you want to prepare

the ingredients before you begin

you could:

chop or mince the garlic

slice the chorizo into little chunks

cut the sweet potato into little chunks

to cook:

pour a generous layer of oil into the soup pot

when the oil is hot, fry the chorizo until golden

pop in the garlic and sweet potato (mix well)

pop in the split red lentils and smoked paprika (mix well)

go ahead and pour in some red wine if you have any (mix well)

pour in the crushed tomatoes and water/stock (mix well)

simmer until the sweet potato and lentils are soft

add salt to taste and garnish with parsley (or not)

this soup tastes better the next day when reheated

and it’s better shared