There is something to be said for foods such as chicken soup, specifically when home made. There is a comfort, though notable a mental connection to the idea that soup could ‘fix’ you when your ill. For myself, I find that the cure is in the love that is used to make it. It does not much matter what the food is, or if you are really even sick, but the thought of someone making, especially for you, some dish – cookies, soup, mashed herb potatoes and chicken, beans and corn, coconut cake – all are more than acceptable gifts from the heart and a product of another’s thought and labor.

In fact, I believe that all handmade gifts are infinitely more effective at curing, or aiding in the comfort of one when they are down or sick.

Food is essential, we all know that, but putting love into the preparation of it is not. That is an added component that is found in how, when, where and why the delectable comforts are made.

And so, while this soup in front of me is not the soup of love I wish it was, it does create a longing for those tasty tokens of affection.