If you're really, really, really into cooking like I am, I think you'll enjoy this. If you're not, I still hope you enjoy this little snippet of what I think was a perfect Sunday.

Last Sunday started like many of my Sundays , with a shower, then a cup of coffee. No shaving. That's far too "work week". My only plan was to cook a few things for the week using foods I purchased the day before at the farmers market, all while the peony-scented breeze from outside poured into and out of the house through all of the open windows.

The first recipe was for an Italian dish of spicy braised cabbage and sausage that promised to be an outstanding complement to polenta. The broth was dry white wine and chicken broth. Layers of green cabbage and sausage (with red pepper flakes) were added to a Dutch oven, and topped with the broth. There were many different recipes for this on the internet, and, unfortunately, the one I chose didn't work out. The recipe called for a dry white wine, but the Chardonnay I chose turned out to be a little too dry, and the dryness of the wine competed with the succulence and savory flavor of the rest of the dish instead of complementing it. I ended up throwing it away after a day. I just couldn't convince myself to like it. I'm sure there are some recipes that are better than the one I happened to select.

Recipes - 1; Paul - 0.

The next dish I made, an old-fashioned chicken vegetable noodle soup, more than made up for the failure of the first dish. Whenever I make this soup, I think of my Memère (my mother's mother). She made similar soups, with fresh vegetables out of her garden. The secret is to make it taste like the garden - pure and simple. No heavy garlic overtones, no wine accents, no saffron-anise twist - just vegetables, chicken, noodles, broth, salt, and pepper. Tout finis!

Here are the vegetables I used, in the order I cooked them: celeriac, carrots, onions, garlic, kale, cauliflower, mushrooms, broccoli, and stewed tomatoes. After prepping all the veggies, I set them aside in bowls, and added them one by one to the large pot, so that they were all done at the same time. When they were almost done, I began adding chicken broth in small amounts (a cup or two at a time).
While the veggies had been cooking, I partially cooked some alphabet noodles. When they were almost done, and when the broth in the soup had come back up to a simmer, I added the noodles to the soup. I stirred the soup occasionally, to prevent the noodles from sticking. I also adjusted the seasoning (salt and pepper). The second-to-last ingredient I added was the chicken. I take a shortcut by purchasing one of those pre-roasted chickens, cutting up the meat, and throwing it in the soup at the very end.

The very last ingredient was a splash of milk, directly into the soupbowl, just before serving. When my siblings and I were small children, and Memère would serve the very hot soup to us, she would splash a little bit of milk into the soup to cool it down. That combination of garden veggies, chicken, stewed tomatoes, hot broth, and cooling milk brings me back to her, as if it were only yesterday. When I make this soup, she is in the kitchen with me.

The next best thing to making a big batch of delicious soup is having so much of it that you need to share! I walked through the yard to my neighbors next door, who were basking in the sun, and asked them what they were doing for lunch. After telling me that they didn't know yet, I told them to grab a big bowl and come on over. I sent Diane back in the house twice - each time to get an even bigger bowl. She returned home with plenty for everyone, and we still had plenty for ourselves, and for my parents (and a few servings for the freezer). What a bounty!

While I was cleaning up in the kitchen, I heard voices (No, not the crazy kind that come from within, but the friendly kind that comes from someone else. Geez - I can't believe you thought that!). Anyway, a good friend who had been out of touch for several years stopped by. She had moved to California, came back to sell her house, and popped in to give us an update. It was wonderful to see her again, and she invited us to go visit. They live less than 2 hours from Napa Valley, so it is a must-do as far as I'm concerned.

The whole day was simple - simple and perfect! Maybe a little too simple for some, but I would be willing to trade some of my more "complex" days for ones like these any day!