Soup Day by Melissa Iwai is like a cozy winter day in book form. The exquisitely simple story follows a mother and daughter as they spend a snowy day at home. From making soup together, to building a pillow fort, this book captures the pleasures of staying home together. Iwai’s gorgeous paper collage illustrations colorfully show the warm, loving relationship between a mother and child, as well as giving a great visual representation of the recipe for Snow Day Vegetable Soup included in the back of the book. Her collage style illustrations lend themselves well to showing the steps in making a nourishing pot of soup. If you have never cooked together with your young child, this book would be a wonderful jumping off point to inspire your time together in the kitchen.
Discussion questions for Soup Day by Melissa Iwai:
- What are some activities you like to do on a day at home?
- Is there a food that you like to eat when you are feeling sick or anxious? What is comforting to you about that food?
- What is your favorite kind of soup?
- If you could make a vegetable soup, what kind of vegetables would you put in it? What kind of pasta would you choose from the ones pictured in the book?
I know I have featured lots of books with soup recipes here on Finest of Suppers, but I just can’t seem to resist! There are so many children’s books about soup and I think that is because soup is so relatable and comforting. We can all think of times when we weren’t feeling well or had a bad day and simple bowl of soup made us feel a little bit better. Iwai has included a recipe for Snowy Day Vegetable Soup in the back of Soup Day and it would be a great starting point for getting your kids involved in the kitchen. I used this recipe as a jumping off point to make a soup with a little bit of an Asian twist. I’ve added sesame oil and soy sauce to my broth as well as a pinch of ginger. I also used flat Chinese egg noodles in place of small pasta and topped the soup off with chives or green onions. One of the great things about soup is how versatile it can be. If you don’t have just the right vegetables, this is a great time to use up whatever vegetables you happen to have on hand. The vegetables in the recipe below are just suggestions and experimentation is encouraged! You could even replace the noodles with rice, barley, or any other grain you have on hand.
Vegetable Noodle Soup
Heat the vegetable oil and sesame oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and bell pepper and saute until softened. Add the rest of the carrots, green beans, the ginger, salt and pepper and continue to cook a few minutes until the carrots and green beans just begin to soften.
Pour in the broth, soy sauce, and water and stir to combine. Cover the pot, bring the broth to a boil, then turn the heat down to low. Continue to simmer until the carrots are soft and easily pierced. Add the dried noodles to the pot and continue to simmer until the noodles are cooked through, according to the package directions. Serve soup immediately topped with chopped green onions, chives, or other herbs.
Ingredients
Directions
Heat the vegetable oil and sesame oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and bell pepper and saute until softened. Add the rest of the carrots, green beans, the ginger, salt and pepper and continue to cook a few minutes until the carrots and green beans just begin to soften.
Pour in the broth, soy sauce, and water and stir to combine. Cover the pot, bring the broth to a boil, then turn the heat down to low. Continue to simmer until the carrots are soft and easily pierced. Add the dried noodles to the pot and continue to simmer until the noodles are cooked through, according to the package directions. Serve soup immediately topped with chopped green onions, chives, or other herbs.
