Even though my little sister lives far, far away in New Zealand I can still cook her some celery soup. Aren’t we lucky. Our mother became sick when my sister was only a little girl and I keep forgetting that she saw me in the kitchen more often than she ever saw Mum there. So she loves to read the recipes.
Our Mother used to make celery soup in the winter. Often for lunch. Not necessarily for the children. Celery soup was one of her comfort foods. I think it was a favourite of hers and it surprised her to find that some of her children loved it too.
We did not need an enormous garden at the beach like I do here. The surrounding countryside had and till has many market gardeners, (vegetable growers) usually New Zealand Chinese and they all had stalls on the side of the road that had fresh beautiful seasonal produce all year round. We were spoiled for choice and never ever bought vegetables in a store we always bought from the family who grew them. And for a while we had a vegetable man who drove his truck around the beach ringing his bell and all the local kids were sent out with a list and the money in little leather purses kept especially for running errands and a string bag that miraculously got bigger the more he put in it. He had a bell hung from a pole on the back of the canvas covered bed of his truck, the bell gently rang itself as he slowly drove. This was when I was very small and I loved the vegetable man.
In those days everything was delivered, the weeks meat was delivered in brown paper by a man in a stained whiteish apron, a paper was delivered twice a day, the mail was delivered by a man who blew a whistle, the milk in its clinky bottles was left in a special milk box at the gate. And I am not that old. This does not seem long ago to me.
Anything else we bought at the local corner store. There were no big supermarkets then. Every street had a little collection of stores, the grocery store, the butcher, the fish and chip shop and a chemist. Sometimes even a bakery and a tea rooms. Every Friday we had fish and chips wrapped in newspaper from the local fish and chip shop, collected by two children on a bike. One to ride the bike and the other to sit on the carrier holding the fish and chips. It was always a fast ride. No-one lived very far from a fish and chip shop in those days, we lived on the beach of a beautiful bay and the fish was always fresh on a Friday.
‘The Shops’ they were called and last time I was home the ones on the road we lived on were all still there. Their big windows still coated in sea spray.
When I was a young teenager and Mum had entered her decline, a small supermarket opened on the other side of the hill and Mum would dress and drive us there, she would give me the purse and I would have my list and Mum would wait in the car while the Littlies (the smaller three of my brothers and sisters – my little sister was one of them) and I ran in to buy whatever I needed. She must have already been sick then. But we all thought she was just very tired.
But back to the celery soup. If your celery is not very fresh pull the little strings off the stalks. Mine was fresh so I did not bother. Slice the celery into little crescents. Cover the bottom of your saucepan with about an inch of celery, then cover with three inches of water. It needs to simmer for about an hour until just soft. Add more water if you need to. By the time the celery is cooked most of your water will have boiled off. You do not want to strain it as Mum always believed that the water stole the nutrients so simmer it until the water is almost gone. Take off the heat and add 2 tablespoons of butter, stir ’til melted, then add two tablespoons of flour slowly – sprinkling and stirring as you go. Then add the milk or cream. Slowly. About four cups of milk ( I forgot to measure it) stirring and heating and adding more milk until your soup is thick and soupy. Mum and I made it quite thick. Add freshly ground pepper to suit yourself. I have always eaten celery soup with lots of pepper.
Traditionally this is eaten with a cheese scone.
Hope that makes sense.
I was working in the cellar yesterday, stacking jars down there.
And came across these two bad boys.
The peach brandy.
So I strained a jar, tasted it and it was all down hill from there. This is so good. SO GOOD!
And the most beautiful colour. I drank it straight and stirred with a precious rosemary stick. (I took this shot after too many sips! you can tell! ) Delightful. I have only decanted one jar. This wee dram is entirely too tempting!
I hope you all have a lovely day.
A lovely, lovely, lovely day.
Your friend (and big sister) on the farm, celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
73 responses to “Celery Soup for my Little Sister”
I so adore you!
I could do with some of that soup, c. My head is a bit banging today. Change of weather, I suspect.
Oh C! You will now have the whole fellowship hooked on celery soup and that photo of it in that beautiful cup and saucer is gorgeous! Isn’t it something how certain foods and recipes can trigger so many memories…what a lovely tribute to your Mum and little Sister!
Since peaches are my favorite fruit in the whole world, I think I would die a happy soul if that peach brandy was my last drink on earth! 🙂
Cherished memories captured forever in a bowl of celery soup. V.
Thank you! My 5 year-old loves cooked celery. I think this is one I can start cooking and have him love it.
Our cupboard is bare at the moment, although for different reasons than yours. I have been “shopping” my pantry and freezer, and they are very bare! 😐 Your recipe comes just in time, because I do happen to have just the ingredients to make Celery Soup and the cheese scones too! (GF, of course. 😉 ) Thank you for sharing the story behind your lovely soup, Celi. Have a blessed day!
Q: Does Celery soup benefit from sitting for a day or is it best eaten fresh?
I have never let it sit overnight, though often I cook the celery, then pause and make the odd roux and add milk and cream just before eating. One of the advantages of the september challenge is that i am eating the freezer bare, which is good as the steer goes in soon.. c
Good, then we shall eat well tonight! 🙂
The true test of a new recipe in this house is if the husband will go back for seconds. This one is a keeper! THANKS! 😀
John liked it too.. hmm.. winners! c
My mum makes celery soup as well. I need to try making some. A beautiful post about your childhood memories. Thank you for sharing.
I have cellar envy.
Gosh, that one bought back a huge amount of memories, I’m going to make that soup today. Thanks for the time I spent sitting on the back of someone bike this morning……..if only in my mind
you were often on the back because you could sit on the carrier, weighing nothing .. no hands.. and hold the shark and taties. there was usually more than one newspaper wrapped package, we had to speed, no-one wanted soggy chips.. have a great day little sister..
I really loved hearing more about your childhood and your siblings. These are somewhat bittersweet memories, when you recount your mother’s decline, but you have such a marvelous spirit about you, Celi, and your resilience always comes out as the top notes of your melody. I admire that. And I also admire that celery soup! My mouth is still so sore, and because it really isn’t “soup weather” here yet, I haven’t been too tempted. I think this one did it!! I think I’ll make some this weekend. I’d enjoy the brandy, too, but I somehow think I’d enjoy it much more if I were sitting with you on that beautiful farm. 🙂
Ice cold peach brandy would be just the thing for your poor mouth, I hope it gets better soon.. c
I have fond memories of the “egg man” who pulled his wagon down the sidewalk selling fresh eggs. When he heard I was in the hospital (I guess I was 3 or 4) he gave my mother a toy to give to me. It was a simple cardboard of Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, Jack jump over the candlestick. You pulled the string and Jack jumped over the candlestick. That was almost 70 years ago and I will never forget his unexpected kindness.
What a truly lovely memory, If an egg man pulled his wagon down the street nowadays I imagine he would be mobbed by exhausted women grateful to have someone deliver the food.. c
I too, remember the shops down our street, before supermarkets came to town; Mum would give us a list and the money in a little purse (with the obligatory string bag which seemed to expand far beyond it’s original size to accommodate the stuff we bought)! I love to hear about your memories from NZ.
I’m keeping your celery soup recipe and will try it out soon, it sounds delicious – and I love your ‘slurp cup’! Your little sister will appreciate the recipe – it will no doubt bring back special memories for her too.
Have a wonderful day Celi!
I had a tear in my eye reading this post and the comments because of the joyous way you are able to congregate people who have similar memories, lost mums, sisters, love old crockery + furniture + food… and have an affection for the good old days 🙂
I remember the excitement of hearing the clopping hooves of the baker’ss wagon pulled by Clydesdales, and the still warm fresh bread.
Memories are so powerful when we can bring them to the fore, and like your mother’s celery soup, bring much needed comfort to those we hold dear.
Thank you for this lovely post, Celi.
The rosemary stick is the perfect finishing touch for the peach.
It wasn’t that long ago – I remember milk bottle deliveries. We lived across the street from a family that owned a small grocery store – their daughter and I used to go with her dad to check on the cows or the farmers market early for produce – and we often stayed for hours at the store for hours. One big family: customers and workers.
We loved when hurricane came in – we got to eat all the ice cream we wanted as it would all melt without power.
We didn’t eat Celery soup, so I must try it. Different flavors of comfort always good.
(Sorry to be so slow reading – the America’s Cup sailboat race has been on all week snatching time…NZ’s Kiwi only needs 1 more race to win!)