Cream of Spinach Cheese Soup — The Soup That Goes Down Like a Hug

January. The month that tests everything. The cold returned — below zero for three consecutive days — and the house became our entire world. Paul can't go outside in winter anymore. The wheelchair doesn't work on ice, the cold saps his energy, and the risk of a fall or a respiratory event from cold air is too high. He's indoors until spring. Five months. Five months of windows and books and the view of the birch tree from the bedroom and the view of the lake from the kitchen, both viewed from inside, both beautiful, both behind glass. I feel the confinement more than he does. Paul has his books and his reading stand and his mind, which is still sharp, still curious, still hungry. I have the house and the caregiving and the cooking and the walks I take with Sven — quick walks, twenty minutes, while Elsa sits with Paul — and the Thursday at the Damiano Center, which is my lifeline, my two hours of being someone other than a caregiver. Gerald was at the center on Thursday. He said, "Happy new year, Linda." I said, "Happy new year, Gerald." He said, "How's your husband?" I said, "He's in a wheelchair now." Gerald nodded. He didn't say sorry. He said, "My buddy in the VA is in a wheelchair. He says the worst part isn't the chair. It's the people who look at the chair instead of him." I said, "That's exactly right." Gerald said, "You don't look at the chair." I said, "I look at Paul." I made winter food all week. Monday: potato soup, thick and warm. Wednesday: beef stew, the pureed version for Paul, chunks for me. Friday: Mamma's yellow pea soup, which I make every January because January demands pea soup the way December demands cookies. All of Paul's food is pureed or soft now. The swallowing is changing — not dangerously, not yet, but the effort of eating solid food is too much for the muscles that are weakening. I've become a specialist in texture modification: pureeing, blending, thickening. The meals look different but taste the same. The meatballs are meatball puree. The stew is stew puree. The soup is soup, which was always the right texture. Soup is mercy food. Soup doesn't require chewing. Soup goes down easy. Soup is warm and it travels through the body like a hug from the inside and it doesn't demand anything from the eater except swallowing, which Paul can still do. I make soup every day now. Different soups. Wild rice. Potato leek. Cream of mushroom. Tomato. Butternut squash. The soups rotate and the days rotate and the weeks rotate and the rotation is the rhythm that keeps us going. Paul ate his soup on Friday and said, "You make the best soup in Duluth." I said, "I make the only soup you eat." He said, "Same thing." January. The windows. The books. The soup. The breathing monitor beeping. The dog at the wheelchair wheels. The wife in the kitchen. The life, reduced and concentrated, like broth.

This is the soup I made on Tuesday — the one that didn’t make the list in the story but maybe should have. Cream of spinach cheese soup blends completely smooth, it’s warm in the way that goes all the way through, and it has enough body that Paul calls it “a real meal.” After Gerald’s words settled in on Thursday, after I walked home and stood at the stove and thought about what it means to look at the person and not the chair, I made this soup again on Friday night. It felt like the right thing to do with my hands.

Cream of Spinach Cheese Soup

Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 25 min | Total Time: 35 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 4 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 10 oz fresh spinach (or one 10 oz package frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry)
• 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Instructions

1. Saute the aromatics. Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the diced onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more.
2. Build the base. Sprinkle the flour over the onion and garlic. Stir constantly for 1–2 minutes to cook out the raw flour taste. The mixture will look pasty — that’s right.
3. Add the liquids. Slowly pour in the chicken broth, whisking as you go to prevent lumps. Then add the milk and cream. Raise the heat to medium-high and bring to a gentle simmer, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes.
4. Add the spinach. Stir in the spinach a handful at a time. Fresh spinach will wilt quickly; frozen just needs to warm through. Simmer 5 minutes until the spinach is fully cooked and tender.
5. Blend until smooth. Use an immersion blender directly in the pot and blend until the soup is completely smooth. Alternatively, transfer in batches to a stand blender, leaving the lid slightly ajar to vent steam. Return to the pot.
6. Add the cheese. Reduce the heat to low. Add the shredded cheddar in two or three batches, stirring after each addition until fully melted and incorporated. Do not boil after the cheese goes in.
7. Season and serve. Stir in the salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Taste and adjust seasoning. Ladle into bowls and serve hot. A small swirl of cream on top is optional but nice.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 310 | Protein: 12g | Fat: 22g | Carbs: 14g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 620mg