A Hearty & Healing Soup

It’s been a difficult week with the passing of my dear dad. I shared some memories of him on my Facebook and Instagram pages and also wrote his obituary. In brief, he was the very best dad who passed away after a long battle with pancreatic cancer and he will be missed tremendously.

I wanted to share a cherished recipe that brought comfort to our family and helped nourish our souls this past week: Hamburger Soup. You can read a post with the recipe originally published on my blog here.

During my dad’s last week when his appetite was changing, I made Hamburger Soup for him. It’s on the heartier side with ground beef, crushed tomatoes, carrots, celery and pearl barley and has a wonderfully flavorful broth. It’s a soup my mom has been making for years so it was a familiar dish to my dad and I was relieved he was able to eat and maybe even enjoy it just a little. It was one of the last meals we had together.

After my dad passed, this soup re-emerged when our family needed it most. Those first few days after the loss of a loved one are a blur, and I now better understand and appreciate the gift of a prepared meal when going through a difficult time. It was very fitting that our longtime neighbor Sharon, who has exchanged so many recipes with our family through the years, made us Hamburger Soup and had it delivered with crackers and fresh bread the day after my dad died.

We later had a laugh at the coincidence that we both looked to the same recipe for a much-needed source of comfort during a tough time. It is a good reminder that cherished family recipes prepared by our loved ones not only fill our bellies but they fill our hearts.