A trip to Florence with Roseanne Cash

and a winter vegetable soup that with fill you with goodness

I'm going down to Florence, gonna wear a pretty dress
I'll sit atop the magic wall with the voices in my head
Then we'll drive on through to Memphis, past the strongest shoals
And on to Arkansas just to touch the gumbo soul

And with the opening lines of A Feather’s Not a Bird soaring into the beauty of Koerner Hall, Roseanne Cash broke my heart open last night and I cried.

It was as sudden an emotion as any I have felt. Hidden behind my mask, I wept with joy of what is to come, with sorrow for what has been lost, and with hope that, slowly, slowly, the broken pieces of the past will be mended.

A feather's not a bird
The rain is not the sea
A stone is not a mountain
But a river runs through me.

While I’ve missed much in this past year, I’m coming to realise that I’ve burrowed deeper into my small world. In its safety and familiarity, I’ve had comfort from knowing that, no matter what is happening outside my cozy walls, I am secure inside. 

Somehow the rules of engagement - the social distancing, the barriers of masks and isolation, have perhaps given us license to forget the broader meaning of things both great and small.

But a feather is not a bird, much as we tax our imaginations to make it so.

It's never any highway when you're looking for the past
The land becomes a memory and it happens way too fast
Yeah, the money's all in Nashville, the light's inside my head
So I'm going down to Florence just to learn to love the thread.

We have music on constantly at home. With our wide-ranging and deeply eclectic tastes, it might be a favourite Verdi opera, an Elvis Costello super session, Patsy Cline or Talking Heads. But no matter the music, the thread, the through-line, shines through. We seek the magical, transformative gift that music brings.

I don’t know what I imagined my first live performance would be. But there could have been nothing more perfect than Roseanne Cash.

I've burned up 7 lives and I used up all my charms
I took the long way home just to end up in your arms
That's why I'm going down to Florence, now I got my pretty dress
I'm gonna let the magic wall put the voices in my head.

The energy of live performances is something we have both missed deeply. It’s what I knew I wanted. What I didn’t know I needed was a storyteller. Someone who would embrace us with her warmth and unbridled happiness at being together again.

An intimate setting, as if we were with dear friends long missed. The band as relaxed as if they were at home practicing. Energy yes, bubbling up effervescent as Champagne, tickling our noses and making us slightly drunk with pure joy. “The social contract is intact here tonight,” said Cash. “We are so happy to be here with you tonight. Be safe until we are together again.”

But a river runs through me

A stone is not a mountain
But a river runs through me.

A Feather’s Not a Bird, John Leventhal and Roseanne Cash

A friend who recently went to Paris told me that trip broke open something inside her. She had been so fearful of venturing forth even close to home, that atrophy was in danger of setting in. And now, she has booked two more trips. The well, so long depleted, crying out to be filled and overflowing.

As I sit here on a sunny Sunday morning, with Roseanne on repeat, I realise that my well and my heart are already full.

(For a treat, click here to watch Roseanne Cash perform A Feather’s Not a Bird with her husband and co-writer John Leventhal)

Winter Vegetable Soup

Serves 6

This simple winter soup, adapted from Sally Schneider, is full of root vegetables and aromatics. It can use up the odds and ends in your refrigerator, with infinite possibilities that can be dictated by what’s on hand and what you like most.

While you can - and should - customize the ingredients, be sure to stick to water as the cooking medium. As Schneider points out, the purity of flavour that results from allowing the vegetables to come together in just water is both nourishing and comforting. The perfect way to replenish your belly and your spirit.

Ingredients

5 cups water

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for serving

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 medium onion, cut into ¼ inch dice

2 medium potatoes, about ¾ pound, peeled and cut into ¼ inch dice

2 medium leeks, white and pale green parts only, thinly sliced and rinsed

4 medium carrots, about 10 ounces, peeled and cut into ¼ inch dice

3 medium parsnips, about 8 ounces, peeled and cut into ¼ inch dice

1 small celery root, about 10 ounces, peeled and cut into ¼ inch dice

1 medium fennel bulb, trimmed and cored, cut into ¼ inch dice

2 garlic cloves, smashed

Freshly ground black pepper

Bay leaf

3 sprigs fresh thyme

Two large sprigs parsley

2 inch piece of Parmesan rind

Cooked diced ham, about 8 ounces

1 cup cooked borlotti or cannellini beans

1. In a large heavy sauce pan, bring the water, 2 tablespoons of olive oil and salt to a boil. Add the vegetables, garlic, bay leaf, thyme, parsley and Parmesan rind, and lower to a simmer. Partially cover and cook for 20 minutes.

2. After 20 minutes add the cooked ham and the borlotti beans. Continue cooking for another 10 to 15 minutes, until the vegetables are very tender. Add a generous grind of pepper

3. To serve, ladle into bowls, drizzle each serving with more olive oil and garnish with additional fresh chopped parsley. Serve with crusty bread.

Leftover soup will keep in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. It also freezes beautifully.