Allpoeticvirtualtravelingaside,asLouisaputitwhenIproposedtheproject,</span><spanclass="pink">"Your breakfast can be my dinner and vice versa!!"</span><br><spanclass="purple">
Ithinkitwasatanorganiccafe/foodstoreinNorthFitzroyabouttwentyyearsago</span><spanclass="purple">seventeenyearsago,whenweallmet,LouisawasfallinginlovewithmyclassmateDanaroundthistimeofyear</span><spanclass="pink">whereIwasservedthemostdeliciousandmostmemorablesoup.Itwasabigbowlofclearvegetablestockbrothwitharainbowarrayoffresh,barelysimmeredvegetablesfloatingaroundalongsidesoftpillowsofspinachravioli.Sodelicious!Itwassuchasatisfyingmeal.IhavemademyownversionofithundredsoftimewithwhateverfreshveggiesIhaveinthefridgeandwhateverpastaIhaveinthecupboard.Icallit"the spring soup"becauseitsatisfiestheneedforwarmfoodsasIslowlymoveoutofmywinter-cookingmindsetandthedesiretoeatthenewfreshvegetablesthatarepoppingupatthemarketorinmygarden:asparagus,beans,carrots,silverbeet</span><spanclass="purple">/snijbiet/SwissChard/beetleaves</span>
I've made coffee and played with the cats for their usual morning routine: fetching kibble that I throw around the house. Louisa was a bit later too because dog friend Tony wanted to go for a walk first. When our housemates were fed and roaming around the house, we connected. We connected over Skype. I seemed to be safely positioned inside a cooking device, away from the splatter and spatulas,</span> <span class="pink"> I set my phone in a bowl and then in a glass but our kitchen is wide so I was out of the frame for much of our time together</span><span class="purple"> and Louisa was streaming on my phone, balancing between the mocha maker and the bottles of oil on the counter. There was a loose recipe for Louisa'sfavorite</span><spanclass="pink">myfavourite</span><spanclass="purple">routinesoup,butoverallitendedupbeingmuchmoreaboutcookingtogetherandspendingimpossibletimetogether(ofcourse),thancloselyfollowingarecipeandgettingitright.</span>
</p><pclass="convo">
<spanclass="purple">
Doyouhavebeans?Ihavebeans<br></span>
<spanclass="pink">
Idon't know if I'vegotbeans.I'vegotbroccoli.<br></span>
Idon't know if I have enough battery, but I'lltrytotakeyououtside.<br></span>
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Igettoseethemarket?<br></span>
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You'llseemysupermarket.<br></span>
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Isitveryfar?<br></span>
<spanclass="purple">
Imeanmydownstairssupermarket.Mybackyard.</span>
</p><p>
<spanclass="purple">
Thereweren't many beans left, but plenty of leafy greens! With the phone in my hand, I was proudly showing Louisa the vegetables of my labor, the big monster plant with Brussels sprouts, while getting some beet leaves, Russian kale and New-Zealand spinach.</span><span class="pink"> How lovely to have fresh vegetables so ready to hand! As we are just coming out of winter in Melbourne my garden just has a little bit of silverbeet and some parsley. The broad beans are growing tall but their beans are not big enough to pick just yet. I chose some vegetables I had in the fridge and chopped them into fairly small pieces: carrot,</span><span class="purple"> the carrots here didn'tcomeup.LastyearIhadanicepatchofsmallcarrots,asIsowedthemtooclosetogether,butthisyeareitherthecatsrummagedthroughthesoilortheslugsatetheleafyends,</span><spanclass="pink">silverbeet,redpepper,broccoliandsomechilli,</span><spanclass="purple">whichIputinsidetoescapethecoldernights,astheyarejuststartingtoturnfromgreentorednow
Okay,I'll add the water. That'ssofunny,assoonasyouaddwater,it'ssoup.</span>
</p><p>
<spanclass="purple">
WhileLouisaguidedmethroughtherecipe,wecaughtuponrecentevents,chattingaway</span><spanclass="pink">thewholetime</span><spanclass="purple">whilecutting,boiling,cooking.</span><spanclass="pink">IhadabluetoothearbudinmyearsoIcouldroamfreelyaroundthekitchenandspeaktoIngeandhearherclearly.</span><spanclass="purple">Intheend,sheaddedvermicelli(andinmycabinet's case, whole wheat noodles, soaked in hot water for four minutes or a bit more). Then Louisa'sfamilygatheredatthetable,whilethecathereblurredthevideofeedwithallhisfur,andweallsatdowntoeattogether!Whichwehadn'tdonesinceIstayedwiththemin2018!</span><spanclass="pink">Everyonewashomeandinthekitchen/livingspace--mypartner,mydaughterandmydog.</span>
</p><pclass="convo">
<spanclass="pink">
Areyoustillthere,Inge?<br></span>
<spanclass="purple">
Yeah.<br>
Iwantedtoaddsomeseasoning.<br></span>
</p><p>
<spanclass="pink">
WeallloveIngeandIknowtheyweresorrytheycouldn't hear her as we were doing the cooking so I promised that when we sat down to eat we could all chat to her as if she were sitting at the table with us. I saw her kitty cats cross the frame of the camera, sometimes sauntering, sometimes dashing. My dog was in his usual mode for this time of the day. He hangs around me in the kitchen hoping I'llgivehimsomebroccoliscraps--whichIdo,althoughIknowIprobablyshouldn't.Mypartnerhadtheexercisematrolledoutandwasstretchinghismusclesafterdoingsomeexerciseandmydaughter(aged12)wasdrawingonheriPadwhilewatchingavideoonhercomputerandlisteningtoanaudiobook--allatonce!</span>
Inourhousewealleatdifferentfoodsfordinner.UsuallymypartnerhassomekindofproteinshakeandmydaughterwhoisstillveryfussyaboutfoodlikessomethingveryplainandIliketoeatsomethingwithlotsofvegetablesorlentils.SowhenwesatdowntoeatwithIngeIwastheonlyoneeatingthesoupIhadmade.Isetthephoneintheglassattheheadofthetablesoshecouldseeallofusandsothatwecouldallseeher.It's not the same as having her here in person with us. We can'tsitclose,giveeachotherhugs,checkouteachother's self-done haircuts and refashioned clothes. But it'snicetobeabletochataboutourlivestogether,tohearwhat's going on here and there, what matters and what doesn't.Islurpupmyvegetablesandpastasoupandshedoesthesame.It'snicetoconnectlikethis.</span>