Corn Soup with Roasted Poblanos
Dad and Mom at one of Dad’s summer seminars in the late 1970s / early 1980s? Look how gorgeous Mom was! Keepin’ it classy with the Stroh’s beer.
Dad and Mom. Summer somewhere in the 1980s? Perhaps Tennessee?
My CUTE parents in England. I just found this photo today - I don’t recall having seen it before.
Photo I took of Dad in Saxapahaw the weekend before his heart surgery. He ended up using it as his author photo for his book Dixie Bohemia.
I’m not sure what they call this room (maybe “the study”?) but this is the room at the Carolina Meadows house which was modeled after the library at the Mallette St. house. It’s where I slept when I was there to help with Dad and Mom.
These are different mariachis than the ones in the story, but that’s how we like to roll in Austin!
I’m gearing up to leave town and, well, you know how that is. Putting things in places so you won’t forget them and then not being able to find anything. Shopping for things for your trip (I’m leading a yoga retreat in the desert https://www.headwestretreats.com/ ), shopping for things for your people who are staying at home. Running this way, running that way. And then, without fail, I always end up packing my clothes 30 minutes before I get in the car and end up with a weird combo of seasonally inappropriate and oddly fitting items. It’s just what I do and there’s no teaching this old dawg.
I was thinking about how Mom rarely went anywhere on her own when I was a kid (or an adult, come to think of it). The few times she left us were memorable. Once, when I was maybe eight or so, she went somewhere for a weekend. Knowing Mom, I’m sure she cooked some things for us. I’m not sure if Dad simply ignored that or didn’t know because he ended up buying us canned chicken & dumplings (actually not so bad) and slimy canned collard greens. (BARF!) I remember complaining to Mom when she came home, pleading with her to never leave again. She did, occasionally, but really not as much as she probably should have.
Mom and Dad were attached at the hip. I remember asking her to do something solo with me once and she said, “but what would your Daddy do?”. One thing Mom did make time for was Baroque Camp (I’m sure it had a more professional name) with my sister at Oberlin Conservatory. As most of you probably know, my sister is a Baroque cellist. There was a program at her school that Mom would come for in the summer. They would learn baroque music and dances. There was more to the curriculum but if I told you I would have to kill you. (Actually, I have no idea what those nutty baroque enthusiasts did!). Anyway, Mom loved that. She was such a curious person. Elisabeth told me that Mom would take notes. It reminded me of the time my Mom’s mom, Nonnie, came to visit me while I was doing a program at Sotheby’s. She sat in the back of my American Paintings class wearing her leather pants and taking notes. I remember someone in the program commenting, “I wish MY grandmother wore leather pants!”. (Pro Tip: She wore them because they don’t wrinkle when you travel.)
My Dad just contacted me this week asking when he had his triple bypass surgery, figuring it must have been around 10 years ago. Yup, a little digging told us it was late February in 2012. What a story that was! Dad noticed that he was having some extreme heart palpitations when he was late and running to a friend’s funeral (total Reed black humor there). He kind of forgot about it for a while and then when he was at his annual physical they asked, “any other questions?”. “Oh wait!” Fortunately, Dad remembered and they figured they would do a stress test just to rule some things out. Well, it turned out that Dad had major blockage in three arteries and it was a miracle that he had not suffered a heart attack yet. They told him to STAY CALM and that they would schedule surgery after the weekend on Monday. This delay ended up being a blessing because it gave me and my sister time to formulate a plan: I would fly in for the surgery and Elisabeth would come for the rehab. I came to Chapel Hill and we discussed various boring things we could do to kill time that would not EXCITE Dad. We ended up driving very slowly to Saxapahaw to have a drink at the cool old mill. We realized that we dodged a bullet with Dad’s 70th birthday celebration just 2 months prior. My sister and I surprised him with freaking mariachis when he was visiting us in Texas for the holidays. We told him, “Hey Dad, someone is at the door for you.” He looked confused but answered nonetheless. CUE: TRUMPET BLASTING! With his heart condition that could have ended really badly! After the mariachis came inside and we all danced to their music, we took Dad to Fonda San Miguel, a local Austin treasure. This restaurant is built to resemble an old hacienda. It’s warm and welcoming with tons of art and decorative details. One of my favorite things to get there is a corn soup, similar to the recipe of Mom’s that I am sharing today. It’s so simple and delicious.
Anyway, back to the heart surgery. It’s weird that I’ve been in that same house in NC facing the potential death of both of my parents. In Dad’s instance, it was something that could happen, in Mom’s instance it was something that was going to happen. I remember sharing the news of Dad’s impending surgery on social media and feeling kind of tacky about it but also superstitious enough that I wanted all the good juju I could muster! I found myself praying and went to bed the night before the hospital wondering if I would have a father the next night. Fortunately, I did. The surgery went mainly as planned. We woke up at the crack of dawn and drove to Duke. Dad’s doctor, who he swore looked too young to know anything, was a crack MD and did her job well. Mom and I sat and waited…. and waited … and waited. At the time I used to wear a mala around my wrist. I was doing a lot of yoga and used the beads to help with meditation. That day I was wearing a garnet one, which actually happens to be Dad’s birthstone. Mom was flustered with all of the waiting and uncertainty so I suggested that she try it out. She asked what mantra I used. I told her “Om Namah Shivaya” which means “I bow down to Shiva”, which is not really Mom’s jam, but it seemed to serve the purpose. Mom diligently worked the beads and we kept waiting. We got a report that the surgery was done and they had sewn Dad up but that there was more bleeding than they were comfortable with so they were going back in to make sure everything was ok. That meant more waiting. They finally got Dad to a place they were happy with and we got to see him in recovery. He was out of his mind. He was on massive drugs, they had cracked his chest open, and they were trying to do something with a breathing tube when we turned the corner. It was so scary. As I mentioned earlier, Mom and Dad were tied at the hip. All of the sudden, I became the parent. I told Mom when we should go home because we couldn’t do anymore good, I drove everywhere, I called the hospital to talk to the nurses, I figured out our food, I just made the decisions. I’m not saying this because I’m so great (you can come to that conclusion on your own!), I’m saying this because Mom was rudderless with worry and truly didn’t know what to do outside her daily rhythm with Dad. It was something I had never seen before.
Dad recovered well from the surgery and, silver lining, actually started exercising. He does EXACTLY the minimum of time the doctor recommends on the elliptical machine and not a step more! (Actually, Dad and his new wife Linda now walk a lot. Thanks, Linda!) I remember Dad once saying that someone told him you could extend your life 5 years by taking up running. Dad’s response? “But you would spend those 5 years RUNNING!” No thanks. ha ha. Mom and Dad got another 6 years together before Mom got her cancer and died. Funny, we always assumed Mom was the healthy one.
Bittersweet. So, today I’m sharing the corn soup recipe. Maybe put on a little mariachi music and enjoy?
CORN SOUP WITH ROASTED POBLANOS
Serves 6
6 ears sweet corn
4 Tbsp. sweet butter
salt and pepper
3 c. spring water
½ cup cream
2 roasted and peeled poblano chiles
With a sharp knife, remove all kernels from cob.
Melt butter in heavy-bottomed pot; add corn, salt, pepper.
Toss over medium heat.
After a few minutes, add water and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally.
After 15 min, remove and cool slightly; pour in blender and blend until smooth.
Press thru med-fine sieve to smooth.
Add the cream, correct the seasoning, heat until just hot, and garnish with minced poblano chiles.
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