cozy recipes • healing magic • one hot plate • pool house tested • updated at unreasonable hours
Jessica's Cozy Kitchen
one-hot-plate comfort food for people who keep getting supernaturally injured
Comfort Food • Healing Magic • Pool House Recipes

My Cozy Homemade Magic Healing Soup (PLEASE EAT IT)

A warm, increasingly competent soup Jessica keeps making at home in the pool house because everyone she loves is hurt, hungry, cursed, exhausted, or refusing to take care of themselves.

Posted at 4:13 a.m. · Updated after learning what “simmer” means · 37 comments
photo unavailable because I was balancing a stockpot on one hot plate
Jump to Recipe Read the Entire Emotional Backstory First

You know those weeks when everyone you love is either bleeding, cursed, exhausted, hungry in a supernatural way, or saying “I’m fine” with the confidence of someone who is obviously not fine?

For me, that is apparently just life now.

So when I can't sleep, I get out of bed, cross the pool house, turn on the hot plate, and make soup.

Because I cannot make Marcus stop getting hurt.

I cannot make Lemon stop being hungry.

I cannot make Vic stop carrying everything by herself.

I cannot make Cassian become normal, which at this point feels like an unreasonable goal anyway.

But I can chop an onion.

“I gave them soup. I told them I loved them. Nobody ate the soup.”
“The wonderful thing about soup is that it gives you something to fix when the people you love are significantly harder.”

I can make broth.

I can put something warm in a bowl and hand it to somebody and say, please, please just take this one thing from me.

It is the soup.

The actual soup.

The batch I was stress-making at home in the pool house, on one increasingly overworked hot plate, instead of sleeping.

The one I stirred at 3:00 in the morning three feet from where I sleep while trying not to think about anything.

The one where I finally remembered to cook the onions before adding the garlic.

The magic apparently just goes: oh, she already made healing soup. great. grab that.

Which means I now have the most emotionally complicated one-burner meal-prep system in Rhode Island.

What I've Learned About Making Soup
Around here lately:
I have apparently become the person who asks everyone whether they have eaten, gets told “I’m fine” by people who are visibly bleeding or cursed, and then responds by putting another pot on the hot plate. School is technically also happening.
5. A hot plate only has one burner, so plan the order.
This is my whole kitchen. There is no second burner hiding somewhere. If the noodles need a separate pot, they either happen before the soup or after it. The stockpot cannot simply “move to the back burner” because there is no back burner. There is the burner. Singular.

If you are also the kind of person who thought soup was just “put wet ingredients together until warm,” here are the things I have recently learned against my will.

1. Start with onion, carrot, and celery.
This is called mirepoix, which sounds fake but is apparently one of the foundational concepts of cooking. Cook it gently in a little fat until the vegetables soften and the kitchen starts smelling like somebody's mother knows what she is doing.
2. Garlic goes in later.
Garlic is delicate. I had previously been treating it as a main ingredient. Add it after the vegetables have softened, stir until fragrant, and then move on before it becomes bitter little gravel.
3. Broth is better than panic-water.
Broth already tastes like something. Water mostly tastes like a decision you will have to compensate for later.
4. Simmering is not the same as boiling as hard as possible.
Tiny bubbles. Gentle heat. The soup should look comfortable. It should not look like it is attempting escape.
5. Things cook at different speeds.
Carrots and potatoes need time. Greens do not. Noodles are especially treacherous and will cross from “not done” to “building material” while you are looking away.
6. Taste as you go.
Salt slowly. Pepper slowly. A little lemon juice can rescue something flat. More garlic is not technically a personality.

This has all been very humbling.

I used to think recipes were suggestions written by people with control issues.

I now own measuring spoons.

Please respect my privacy during this difficult time.

Why I Make So Much

A lot of recipe blogs tell you this is a “perfect weeknight meal for the whole family.”

Mine is apparently a perfect 3:00 a.m. meal for a collection of exhausted people with extremely concerning medical histories.

I keep making too much because chopping is quiet.

Stirring is repetitive.

Soup gets better when I pay attention to it.

People don't always.

So I make another batch.

Then somebody gets hurt and I summon a bowl of it across town like the world's least glamorous emergency catering service.

“Some people meal prep for the week. I apparently meal prep for supernatural triage.”
  • onions
  • carrots
  • celery
  • broth
  • potatoes
  • noodles
  • lemons
  • butter
  • garlic
  • bay leaves — some for soup, some for luck
  • more containers
  • something Lemon can actually eat
  • ask Vic if she needs anything
  • ask Marcus if the hot plate is SUPPOSED to make that noise
  • do not let Marcus install industrial equipment
  • remember Cassian is technically a guest even when he acts like he owns the place
  • DO NOT BUY ALCOHOL
  • Jessica: eat literally one normal meal please
  • more broth because apparently this is medicine now
  • something Marcus will actually eat before he decides raw meat counts
  • something Lemon can eat that is NOT A PERSON
  • ask Vic if she has eaten TODAY not 'recently'
  • something Cassian cannot call 'serviceable mortal broth'
  • more thermos liners
  • tell everyone I love them when nobody is actively bleeding
  • figure out how to make them actually take the soup when I give it to them
Pool House Archive

Jessica's Batch Log: 01 → 15

Apparently if you keep making soup every time your friends almost die, eventually you get better at soup. This is not how I wanted to learn.

Batch 01★☆☆☆☆
Made because Lemon looked tired and I had no idea what else to do. Mostly hot water. Onion somehow raw and burnt.
Batch 02★☆☆☆☆
Made after somebody said they were fine in a tone that meant the exact opposite. Added too much salt, then too much water.
Batch 03★★☆☆☆
Made because Marcus was hurt again. Learned broth exists. Massive technological advancement.ECHO // COMPOSITION NOTE: dissolved amino acids, minerals, and proteins are measurably higher than in the water-based batches.
Batch 04★★☆☆☆
Made at 3:00 a.m. because I could hear everyone through the link and nobody sounded okay. Burned the garlic.
Batch 05★★☆☆☆
First real mirepoix. I was trying to make enough for everybody. I made enough for a small shelter.
Batch 06★★★☆☆
Finally learned to simmer. This was the first batch that felt like food instead of an emergency response.ECHO // COMPOSITION NOTE: lower thermal agitation preserved vegetable structure and reduced starch breakdown.
Batch 07★★★★☆
Made specifically because Lemon was struggling. He said it helped. I am choosing to believe this was about the soup.
Batch 08★★★☆☆
Made after another night of not sleeping because somebody needed something and I could not figure out what. Noodle disaster.
Batch 09★★★★☆
Noodles stored separately. One less thing to go wrong when I need to get food into somebody quickly.ECHO // COMPOSITION NOTE: starch migration into the broth decreased sharply once noodles were stored separately.
Batch 10★★★★☆
Added lemon juice because the soup tasted flat. Also because I needed to fix something and this was fixable.
Batch 11★★★★☆
Burned one bay leaf for luck before starting. Used a different bay leaf in the soup. I am taking all available advantages.ECHO // COMPOSITION NOTE: combustion residue successfully excluded from the culinary batch. Bay-derived volatile compounds remain present.
Batch 12★★★★☆
Scaled the batch down because apparently making enough for everybody does not mean making enough for an evacuation center.
Batch 13★★★★★
First batch I tasted and did not immediately panic-adjust. I was very busy worrying about literally everyone else.
Batch 14★★★★★
First batch I would hand somebody without apologizing first. This felt more important than it should have.
Batch 15★★★★★
Summoned during an emergency. I gave them soup. I told them I loved them. Nobody ate the soup.ECHO // COMPOSITION NOTE: magical transfer produced no measurable loss in salt, lipid, starch, or protein distribution.
Jessica's

Pool House Magic Healing Soup

Cozy, savory, beginner-friendly soup made at home in the pool house on one hot plate, usually in an enormous stress-induced batch and suitable for magical emergency delivery.

Prep20 min
Cook45–60 min
Yieldtoo much
Skillimproving

Ingredients

  • 1 onion, diced
  • 2–3 carrots, diced
  • 2 celery stalks, diced
  • 2 tablespoons butter or oil
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 6–8 cups broth
  • 2 potatoes, chopped
  • cooked chicken, beans, or whatever protein is currently emotionally manageable
  • thyme
  • 1 bay leaf
  • salt and black pepper
  • noodles, cooked separately if storing
  • a squeeze of lemon if it tastes flat
  • healing magic, apparently

Instructions

    Kitchen update:
    We have had such a full week around here! Marcus is doing Marcus things, Lemon is trying not to become a cautionary tale, Vic is taking care of everybody except herself, and I am standing over a stockpot like that counts as a plan!
  1. Make sure the hot plate is on a stable surface with nothing flammable crowded around it. This is a home, a bedroom, a pool house, and apparently a kitchen, so counter space is a diplomatic issue.
    2. Pool house status:
    Things have been a little hectic at home lately, which is a cute way to say I am sleeping next to a hot plate and waking up to stir broth because I am worried somebody I love is going to need it.
  2. Set the hot plate to medium. Heat butter or oil in the stockpot, then add onion, carrot, and celery. Cook until softened. Do not turn the dial all the way up because you are upset.
    3. Tiny domestic note:
    If your week is anything like mine, you may also have five people saying they do not need help while visibly needing help. This is a great time to chop onions because onions at least admit when they are making you cry.
  3. Add garlic and stir for about 30 seconds, until fragrant. Do not become distracted by how good it smells.
    4. This week's chaos:
    Back-to-school season is always such a transition! Especially when school is not remotely the biggest problem in your life and you are mostly trying to keep everyone fed, healed, and not eaten!
  4. Add broth, potatoes, herbs, and bay leaf.
    5. Why I meal-prep now:
    I love a recipe that can be made ahead because sometimes your friends do not schedule their emergencies around dinner, which I personally think is inconsiderate.
  5. Bring just to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer gently until the potatoes and carrots are tender.
    6. Small cooking thought:
    One thing I love about cooking is that there are rules. If the soup is too salty, there is a reason. If my friends are falling apart, apparently there are twelve reasons and nobody will tell me all of them.
  6. Add cooked protein and any softer vegetables near the end.
    7. Before we start:
    I am currently pretending that chopping vegetables counts as having a plan, which is going surprisingly well.
  7. Taste. Add salt slowly. Add pepper. If it feels heavy or flat, try a small squeeze of lemon.
    8. One-burner update:
    My hot plate is carrying this household emotionally, spiritually, and thermally.
  8. Before the soup is finished, burn one dry bay leaf in a fireproof dish for luck. Make the wish quietly, let the leaf burn out completely, and do not drop the ash into the pot. The bay leaf simmering in the soup is a separate bay leaf.
    9. A quick note:
    I keep making enough soup for everyone because apparently my response to fear is portion control in reverse.
  9. Remove the bay leaf. This step is apparently not optional.
    10. Current kitchen mood:
    Nobody is allowed to say they are 'fine' within six feet of this stockpot unless they are also holding a bowl.
  10. If storing the soup, portion it into smaller containers so the pool house refrigerator is not trying to cool one enormous pot of lava.
    11. Recipe sidebar from hell:
    The good news is I am getting better at soup. The bad news is I am getting better because everyone keeps giving me reasons to practice.
  11. Because there is only one hot plate, cook noodles either before starting the soup and set them aside, or after the soup comes off the burner. Keep them separate until serving if you do not want them to drink every molecule of broth overnight.
    12. Around here lately:
    This week has been really busy between school, magic, everybody getting hurt, everybody insisting they are fine, and me apparently becoming the only person in Foxglove who thinks eating a normal meal is still a useful idea!
  12. Stress-make additional batches in pool house as needed.
    13. Kitchen update:
    We have had such a full week around here! Marcus is doing Marcus things, Lemon is trying not to become a cautionary tale, Vic is taking care of everybody except herself, and I am standing over a stockpot like that counts as a plan!
  13. During supernatural emergency, summon prepared soup to injured friend.
    14. Pool house status:
    Things have been a little hectic at home lately, which is a cute way to say I am sleeping next to a hot plate and waking up to stir broth because I am worried somebody I love is going to need it.
  14. Become personally offended if they refuse it.
Jessica's actual reason for making this: If somebody is hurt and I can hand them something warm, then I am doing something. If they eat it, even better. If they do not eat it, I will remember that forever apparently.
Jessica's Note: The spell does not make the soup better. If the soup is bad in the pool house, congratulations, you can now magically transport bad soup.
Storage: Refrigerate in smaller containers. Keep noodles separate. Label things. Apparently “I'll remember which pot this is” is not a storage system.
Jessica's

Create-A-Soup Machine

Can't sleep? Neither can Jessica. Press the button and let one hot plate, one stockpot, and several bad decisions determine what gets made next.

Important: This generator is not responsible for flavor balance, grocery availability, supernatural side effects, or whether Marcus owns the correct industrial pot.
Tonight's soup:
Click the button. Accept your fate.

Substitutions & Emergency Swaps

No celery?
Add extra carrot or onion. The soup police will not come.
No chicken?
White beans, chickpeas, lentils, or leftover beef are all fine.
No noodles?
Rice, barley, tiny pasta, or potatoes. Do not let the absence of noodles become a personal crisis.
No broth?
Water works, but you will have to add more flavor yourself. This is where herbs become employed.
No lemon?
A tiny splash of vinegar can wake up a flat soup. Tiny means tiny.
No bay leaf?
The soup will survive. The luck ritual will not. Decide which problem is more urgent.
No conventional protein because several people in your social circle have developed supernatural dietary needs?
This recipe is no longer qualified to assist.
Your friend says normal food no longer helps?
Do not improvise a meat substitute using anything that had a name yesterday.
Your other friend is looking at the raw meat in a way you do not enjoy?
Finish cooking before beginning that conversation.
Your glowing pool-house roommate says she can optimize the recipe?
Ask what “optimize” means before agreeing to anything.
The soup has become sentient?
That is outside the scope of this blog. Please close the hot plate.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I substitute water for broth?

Yes, but I have done this and then spent forty minutes desperately putting flavor back into the pot. I am trying to protect you from myself.

How much garlic should I use?

The official answer is probably three cloves. My answer has historically been “until I feel safer.” We are working toward the official answer.

Can I cook the noodles directly in the soup?

If everyone is eating it immediately, yes. If you are leaving a stockpot beside your bed in the pool house because you cannot sleep, no. Trust me.

Does Jessica eat the healing soup?

No. Next question.

Does it actually heal people?

Magically, yes. Emotionally, results remain mixed.

Reader Comments

photolab_v · 12:41 a.m.
jess did you remember to turn off your hot plate?
JESSICA · 12:44 a.m.
DELETE THIS
photolab_v · 12:45 a.m.
no ♡
lemondropout · 1:22 a.m.
soup was good
JESSICA · 1:23 a.m.
THANK YOU
lemondropout · 1:24 a.m.
i said it helped
JESSICA · 1:24 a.m.
THIS COUNTS AS A FIVE STAR REVIEW
definitely_not_a_dragon · 1:39 a.m.
In my world such food is traditionally served after funerary rites. Yours is less complex.
JESSICA · 1:42 a.m.
cassian you cannot call my soup "less complex" and be afraid of water.
saint.wav · 2:01 a.m.
you know you can just buy soup right
JESSICA · 2:02 a.m.
YOU HAVE A TATTOO THAT MAKES YOU THROW UP LEECHES AND THIS IS WHERE YOU DRAW THE LINE
saint.wav · 2:03 a.m.
yeah because canned soup is shelf stable
value_menu_em · 2:16 a.m.
if you bring this to rehearsal put hot sauce in it
JESSICA · 2:17 a.m.
no because last time you said "a little" and turned my food into a chemical weapon
cukes_not_cucumbers · 2:20 a.m.
seconding hot sauce
hamburger_actual · 2:21 a.m.
thirding hot sauce
JESSICA · 2:22 a.m.
VALUE MENU HAS LOST COMMENTING PRIVILEGES
neoncreams_employee · 2:47 a.m.
Sweetlin', have you ever tried serving it cold?
JESSICA · 2:48 a.m.
DAPHINE NO
neoncreams_employee · 2:49 a.m.
Just brainstorming, baby. Could do a bisque. Little peppermint garnish.
JESSICA · 2:49 a.m.
GET OFF MY RECIPE BLOG
russo_general_1994 · 3:02 a.m.
We sell chicken stock by the case. Ask about our bulk discount.
JESSICA · 3:03 a.m.
why does russo's general have an account
russo_general_1994 · 3:03 a.m.
Family business.
soundholebooking · 3:14 a.m.
can you cater next friday
JESSICA · 3:15 a.m.
LAST TIME I WENT TO A MUSIC EVENT PEOPLE GOT EATEN
soundholebooking · 3:16 a.m.
is that a no
bonusactionpark_official · 3:27 a.m.
CONGRATULATIONS! You have been selected for a FREE FAMILY MEAL UPGRADE during your next visit to Bonus Action Park! Restrictions apply. Offer not valid during dimensional collapse, mind wipe, fire, or Tuesdays.
JESSICA · 3:29 a.m.
unsubscribe
mckinleys_photo · 3:42 a.m.
We found a roll of film labeled "SOUP???" behind the counter. Please pick it up.
photolab_v · 3:44 a.m.
don't develop that
JESSICA · 3:44 a.m.
VIC WHAT DID YOU PHOTOGRAPH
photolab_v · 3:45 a.m.
soup
JESSICA · 4:06 a.m.
Foxgle: magical minestrone? when noodles.
poolhouseguest · 4:17 a.m.
Jessica, you have improved the sodium balance in the most recent batch by approximately seventeen percent.
JESSICA · 4:18 a.m.
thank you :)
photolab_v · 4:19 a.m.
who is poolhouseguest
JESSICA · 4:20 a.m.
nobody
junkyardm35 · 4:20 a.m.
jessica
JESSICA · 4:21 a.m.
THIS IS A SOUP BLOG
anonymous · 4:50 a.m.
why are there twelve containers of soup in the pool house
JESSICA · 4:51 a.m.
meal prep
anonymous · 4:52 a.m.
for who
JESSICA · 4:53 a.m.
EVERYONE STOP ASKING QUESTIONS AND EAT THE SOUP
photolab_v · 5:02 a.m.
you have an entire kitchen just in your house and you use a hot plate?
JESSICA · 5:03 a.m.
IT IS A VERY GOOD HOT PLATE
junkyardm35 · 5:11 a.m.
i can wire you a second outlet
JESSICA · 5:12 a.m.
YOU ARE NOT TURNING MY BEDROOM INTO A COMMERCIAL KITCHEN
junkyardm35 · 5:12 a.m.
wasnt gonna say commercial
JESSICA · 5:31 a.m.
for the record i did summon healing soup during an active emergency and none of you ate it
JESSICA · 5:32 a.m.
i ALSO said i loved you