Once, when I felt I was catching the flu, I could not move my body—I listened for a long time at the steady sound of rain.  Somehow, I managed to telephone my friend Ana, and asked if she would make me “her” chicken soup.

A couple of hours later, Ana arrived at my home.  She left a large deep blue stock pot of scrumptious homemade soothing soup.  It was Friday; Saturday night I had eaten the last morsel; and Sunday morning the memory of illness was gone.

The gift of kindness, the small gestures in the manner of giving up a seat to a pregnant lady, on the bus or subway; volunteering to mentor at the Boys & Girls Clubs of America; donating blood at the New York Blood Center demonstrates the daily life of Thanksgiving.

Ana’s chicken soup was delicious, hearty and heartfelt.  Her cookery reminded me of my mother’s kitchen while growing up in Atlanta, Georgia.  It’s where I learned to appreciate good home cooked meals and the pleasure of wholehearted meals around the world.

I admit comfort food is like beauty— “in the eye of the beholder.”  And so, whether one’s palatable cuisine is Starbucks, Subways or the Italian restaurant, Spasso—Thanksgiving is every day.

Ana’s Chicken Soup

(Ingredients – Courtesy of Ana A. Rodriquez)

Organic chicken, garlic, oregano, salt, black pepper, white potatoes, yucca potatoes, onions, green beans, green pepper, scallions, carrots, and “lots of love.”

Catch it if you can www.bgca.org, www.nybloodcenter.org, www.spassonyc.com, www.starbucks.com, and www.subway.com.