It tasted like Christmas. Mmm…

Until I made chestnut soup, I didn’t know food could taste like a holiday. Oh, I associate some foods with particular holidays, such as chocolate on Valentine’s Day and hot dogs on the Fourth of July, but this was different.

I’m not sure why I decided to make the soup, maybe I just wanted something new on the Christmas menu. With an act of faith, I ordered two cans of imported French chestnuts—an expensive luxury at the time.

Not knowing if I’d like the soup, I started to prepare it. The process of “sweating” the finely chopped carrots and celery was new to me. All in all, preparing the soup wasn’t complicated, although it was time-consuming. Also, using pie spices instead of herbs intrigued me.

When done, the soup wasn’t exciting to see—just a thin, taupe-colored broth. I hoped it wouldn’t disappoint. With a bit of trepidation, I dipped a spoon into the broth and brought it to my lips. I sipped. The flavor burst onto my tongue—Christmas!

It tasted just like Christmas.