When Food Helps Us Belong

By Charlotte Donlon

My friend Michael Dechane asked for the rosemary, white bean, and chicken soup recipe that I mention in The Great Belonging. I mention the soup in the “Belonging to Ourselves” section of The Great Belonging. It’s in a chapter about recovering from a bipolar manic episode and reconnecting to a healthier version of myself.

And while I mention my mental illness in this chapter and a few other chapters, The Great Belonging is not a book about mental illness. Here’s what Sarah Sanderson wrote about that in a review over at Mockingbird:

Perhaps the most extraordinary thing about this book is Donlon’s willingness to welcome us into the far reaches of her own mind. Donlon has bipolar disorder; she has experienced addling manias and debilitating depressions. In The Great Belonging, Donlon relays these vacillations without hyperbole and without shame. What struck me most about these particular chapters is that, while they are vital to the book, The Great Belonging does not become, by their inclusion, a book about mental illness. Most books that include this level of openness about mental illness are primarily about mental illness; they are written for the mentally ill and those that love them, or they are memoirs written to shock or educate the general public. The Great Belonging is none of these. It is a book about loneliness whose author happens to be quite open about her own mental illness. In treating her condition this way, Donlon gives us all a great gift: a vision of a world in which mental illnesses can be openly discussed, but do not have to totally define the people who live with them.

My rosemary, white bean, and chicken soup helped me belong to myself while I was recovering from a season of mental illness. And I love that food helps us belong to ourselves and others in all kinds of other ways. We all have favorite recipes connected to memories and holidays and family gatherings. We remember delicious meals at favorite restaurants. We have comfort foods we turn to when we feel disconnected from ourselves and the world around us.

Robert Farrar Capon says food can help us feel more connected to God, too. “To be sure, food keeps us alive, but that is only its smallest and most temporary work. Its eternal purpose is to furnish our sensibilities against the day when we shall sit down at the heavenly banquet and see how gracious the Lord is. Nourishment is necessary only for a while; what we shall need forever is taste.”

I love Capon’s words here. They help expand my views of food and nourishment and turn my attention toward The Great Feast and the best Communion wine we will ever drink. (I love all of Capon’s words!) Not only The Supper of the Lamb: A Culinary Reflection, but also his books on theology. You should read them!)

I don’t know if I’ll be able to eat my rosemary, white bean, and chicken soup in heaven. If I can’t, I’m sure there will be all kinds of other tasty soups.

Here’s my recipe if you want to try it. I don’t measure anything so you just have to feel and taste your way through it. It’s so easy even though these instructions are kind of long-ish.

Chop an onion and cook it in extra virgin olive oil in a medium-to-large pot until soft or even a bit caramelized.

(Or use a bag of frozen, chopped onions or a container of fresh pre-chopped onions from the produce section to save time and tears.)

Add two or three sprigs of fresh rosemary to the pot while the onions are cooking.

After the onions look the way you want them to look, add about a quart of chicken stock.

Bring to a boil, then simmer for about 15 minutes.

Add two large cans (29 oz each) of rinsed and drained cannellini beans.

(Or use dried beans. Soak, cook, etc. prior to making the soup. I usually use dried cannellini or great northern beans but the store was out. I’ve never seen a store out of dried white beans.)

Simmer for another five minutes or so. Then mash some of the beans to thicken it a bit. You can also put a cup or two of the soup with mostly beans/not much liquid in a blender (carefully!), blend (carefully!), then add it back to the pot. Whichever way you prefer. You may also need to add more chicken stock at this point to achieve your preferred consistency.

Add a bunch of chopped rotisserie chicken from Costco or Whole Foods. You can also cook your own chicken ahead of time or use leftover chicken from some other wonderful meal as long as the flavors work.

Simmer for a couple of minutes to warm the chicken. Remove the rosemary stems. Most of the leaves (leaves?) will be in the soup. If you don’t like big chunks of rosemary leaves in your food you can take them off the sprigs and chop it up on the front end. Sorry. I should’ve mentioned this sooner.

Then add salt and any other seasonings that seem like they will work. I used some organic no-salt seasoning from Costco (and salt, of course) which works pretty well. I usually just use salt so you don’t have to get fancy with the seasonings if you don’t want to.

You can also top it with cooked, chopped bacon if you want because bacon makes everything better.

I included a photo of the soup with bacon but I promise it’s still yummy without bacon.

Enjoy!

If you’re curious about various angles of loneliness and ways we belong to ourselves, others, and God, you might like my first book, The Great Belonging: How Loneliness Leads Us to Each Other. You can order it anywhere books are sold. Here’s where you can buy it at Bookshop.org, Broadleaf Books (with 20% off and free shipping using code BLHOLIDAY20), and Amazon. AND. If you read The Great Belonging, I’d love for you to leave a review at Goodreads and Amazon. These things are important for multiple reasons. Thank you!

This piece was originally published at charlottedonlon.substack.com.


Charlotte Donlon helps her readers and clients notice how they belong to themselves, others, God, and the world. Charlotte is a writer, a spiritual director for writers, and the founder of Spiritual Direction for Writers™ and Parenting with Art™. She is also the founder and host of the Our Faith in Writing podcast and website. Her essays have appeared in The Washington Post, The Curator, The Christian Century, Christianity Today, Catapult, The Millions, Mockingbird, and elsewhere. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from Seattle Pacific University where she studied creative nonfiction with Paula Huston and Lauren F. Winner. She holds a certificate in spiritual direction from Selah Center for Spiritual Formation. Her first book is The Great Belonging: How Loneliness Leads Us to Each Other. To receive Charlotte’s latest updates, news, announcements, and other good things, subscribe to her email newsletter.

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