Vocational Inspiration with Mark's Chicken Noodle Soup

I roasted a chicken at the weekend, always a nurturing joy and abundant provider of stock, soup, stews and chicken sandwiches.

After making stock with the bones last night, out of the blue I began to crave chicken noodle soup. Whilst making it I remembered this recipe was taught to me about 12 years ago by my boss in the deli & café I worked in whilst at 6th form, lovely Canadian Mark, wo had the best stories and sense of humour. Whilst he was making this to serve and showing me how, he told me about the freezing Canadian winters and how one of the things that makes them bearable are the guys selling chicken noodle soup on the street.

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Mark’s Chicken Noodle Soup

• Chicken stock, preferably fresh. Boil up the bones from a roast chicken with a chopped onion, a bay leaf and salt/pepper. Simmer for at least an hour, leave to go cold and strain
• Some leftover chicken, shredded
• 2 cloves chopped garlic
• 1 inch piece fresh ginger
• A little chopped fresh chilli
• Tin of sweetcorn
• Noodles (I used egg wholewheat but you can use any kind)
• Tamari or soy sauce

Reheat the stock (it’s better the next day, so leave in fridge overnight if you can) throwing in the garlic and ginger. When it’s boiling bring to a simmer and add the chicken. Check the seasoning and add salt/pepper/tamari to taste. Add some noodles (amount depends on how much you like noodles) and the sweetcorn. Add some fresh chilli but BEWARE this can make broth really hot, so add a little & serve it with some more on top if you need it. When the noodles are cooked through serve yourself a big bowl and enjoy the healing power of chicken soup.

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Working in that place was one of my favourite jobs ever, along with working in the bar/café at Chapter Arts Centre in Cardiff. In recent years I have come to realise (and I don’t know why it’s taken so long) that I was actually much happier in that work than when I began getting ‘proper’ jobs in my early 20s.

During that time I became quite depressed. I did not realise until I began to come out of this period of depression in my late 20s that this was the case. I was never diagnosed or sought treatment, probably a good thing because the NHS seems to have a tendency to whack people on medication at the drop of a hat. It was a course of therapy triggered by an incident/reaction in 2008 which started me on my healing  journey.

Pushing myself towards a ‘career’ I never wanted was a contributing factor to melancholy throughout most of my 20s. Hands-on practical, sociable, creative work fills me up, whereas trying to prove myself in a ‘professional’ arena left me empty and numb. The path to good mental health through creativity is still one I am travelling, and on the way have crossed several important thresholds into wellbeing. Awareness of this change process is an intention with which I am beginning my more authentic and joyful 30s.

I recently admitted a long-term dream to my wonderful coach Gwen, to run a café and creative learning space. Somewhere rooted in community which nurtures wellbeing and positive change through art, soul food and sharing.

For now, I am playing with the café space in various ways, including sharing the food I love to make on this blog. On the subject of dreams & vocation, here are some inspiring lines to close:

But yield who will to their separation,
My object in living is to unite
My avocation and my vocation
As my two eyes make one in sight.

Only where love and need are one,
And the work is play for mortal stakes,
Is the deed ever really done
For Heaven and the future’s sakes.

- Robert Frost

Poem via another lovely (and very funny) ex-boss, Ed. Life takes us on all these weird twists and turns whilst pursuing what we think we want, but it really is the people we meet along the way that make it all worthwhile. 

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