....soupie! Dat is!! (Get yer mind outta'em gutter, peoples!
)
Well, to explain this title, I is gonna have to go back to da ev'ning that Alpho and Mr. Alpho had us over for dinner...
Their friends from St. Simons Island came to visit them and the Alpho's graciously invited us over for dinner as well.
I don't have to tell any of you this because you probably have read or seen her photos of her cooking. And yes, it is marvelous...
something really stuck in my mind that night, the lady guest(whom I'll call "S") said, "it is hard not to go to the "Alphos" and walk away feeling like royalty..."
'tis very true!
Throughout the night, I see Mr. Alpho sitting there, with content look on his face. With every dish that was brought out, he beamed with pride while he swallowed hard looking over the lovely dishes...
throughout the years, I've seen and heard about Alpho's cooking, the last time I've had the pleasure of her cooking, the meat was missing...ROFL(There is a funny story behind that, but I'll save that for another day) but we DID have ***** soupie and her famous Caesar Salad and the lucious chocolate pie...
this time, repeat performance on the ***** soupie and the cous cous salad followed with juicy tender, filet mignons...and to end it all, with the fabulous, yet not too sweet, meringue topped with fruits...
all the while that we were enjoying the delicious food, the warmth in the air was flowing fluidly...
The ***** soupie is a sweet tater based soup with a hint of spiciness to it...
Alpho dressed with a swirl of sour creme and a couple of blue corn chips (that sank perfectly in the middle of the bowl while their crunchiness was slowly soaking up the soup...)
the color of the soup rivals that of the Southern sunset(which is one of the biggest reasons why they love this area) and the aroma reminds me of when grandma would bake sweet tater pies in the oven and the smell would fill the air and bring smile to my happy little heart(ok, so my grandma never baked sweet tater pies, but one can dream, can't they? LOL besides, my grandma did cook a lot of other things, so the **** soupie reminded me of that, OK OK OK? LOLOLOL)
it is of no secret that Jan is a month that brings the sadness to the Alphos' hearts...( as well as bizi's, of course) As she's posted, their son Michael, passed away in unimaginable fashion in Jan.
Every year since then, they'd get away around this time of the year, not that they are afraid to face it, but simply to get away so they can understand it(by retreating) better...
this time, they've chosen the south, in this wonderful town, where the wifey and I are very lucky to have found and currently reside. I felt a little guilty having the Alphos to ourselves for the duration, for she is truly loved and I know that people miss her like crazy in this here forum...
at the same token, she and Mr Alpho being here, has reminded me of why it is important, to move on, to not to be so hard on ourselves, to learn that ANGER, is OK as long as we don't take it out on others...but most of all, that we are allowed to love through thick and thin, flaws or perfection, trying times and the good times...
as we all agreed during lunch on berry island, "it's all good..."
I also am going to take a guess at why Alpho loves to cook...it is her way of showing "love"
not that she doesn't say it, she does...not that she doesn't show it, she does...
but when she COOKS, the love is magnified a thousand fold(or beyond)...
it shows in her cooking, the love "brims" right out of the bowl...
her slaving in the kitchen brings smile to her face and contentment to her heart because she knows that after all the saying "I love you" and after all the showing "I love you"...the cooking, brings a period that ends in I love you...
no more words are needed...the food says it all...
I can see it on Mr. Alpho's content face, in the guests content face...I feel it on my OWN content face..
we KNOW, that we were loved...
my mom is kinda the same way...she doesn't say the I loves you though,but she shows it through her cooking for me...
I think I realized as I am typing this now that is why I love to cook for my wifey so much...I feel like there are no words to describe the way I feel bout her, so the only other way, is to cook it...
now, if I can only cook ***** soupie like Alpho can, I am sure the wifey would really know that I love her soooo much, cause I can say it through the *****...LOLOLOL
Thank you, Alpho,for being here...I look forward to cooking for you next time...and when I do, and I insist, you'll know why...
(the subject of this is to feature ***** soupie, while all the other foods were equally wonderful, the author doesn't want the cous cous salad and the Filet Mignon topped with mushroom sauce and the Meringue/berry topping to feel left out, they shall be remembered in the author's mind and stomach for eternity[well, not the stomach, of course...LOL])