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from Our Bread

And in this frigid hour, when the earth

smells of human dust and is so sad,

I want to knock on every door

and beg forgiveness of I don't know whom, 

and bake bits of fresh bread for him

here, in the oven of my heart...! 

-Cesar Vallejo

I almost forgot it was Wednesday poem day. I'm working on a paper, and it's rainy and cold outside and time is hard to measure. Definitely a soup day, which is good because lately I've been making a lot of soup; today for lunch I finished off a chickpea and chard soup that has been my staple this week. Here's the recipe, which I adapted from something I found on the internet: 

Chickpea & Chard Soup

-Heat a large pot on the stove over medium heat, with enough olive oil to cover the bottom. Chop one medium onion, put in pot. Keep an eye on the onion, stirring periodically, chop three cloves garlic, add these to the onion, continue to stir, and add one generous tablespoon chopped ginger-root. 

-When the onion is good and soft and the whole thing is fragrant, add three-quarters of a cup of white rice, stir to coat. Add a can of chickpeas and five or six cups water, make sure to scrape any brown bits off the bottom, add some garam masala and cumin (maybe two teaspoons of the former and a half-teaspoon of the latter, maybe more), salt generously, heat to boil, then cover and simmer for fifteen minutes. 

-While the soup simmers, de-stem the chard (I don't know how much, as much as you have, unless you have a lot) and chop the stems and leaves separately. 

-After fifteen minutes, add more water and spices as needed, and cook fifteen minutes more--the rice and stems should be tender. Add the chard leaves, cook five minutes, salt and pepper to taste, and eat. Don't burn your tongue.