Saturday, we took an excursion to Boston to see the Huntington Theatre’s matinee of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. The plan was to have a quick lunch at the Prudential Center’s Food Court before the show. Our usual favorite there is a bowl of Boston Chowda chowder, but as we passed through, I noticed a new place, CheeseBoy, serving grilled cheese sandwiches, a favorite of mine. It was fast, but tasty! I had a simple grilled cheese (American cheese on Italian bread) with pickles added. Howard had a fancier grilled cheese sandwich (Cheddar on rye) with bacon and pickles. All around, a good fine.

Sometimes, after a matinee, we’ll stay in the city for dinner, but we headed home to relieve Bella. We decided on more fast food for dinner. Five Guys opened nearby in Burlington, and we wanted to check it out. We made the mistake of ordering regular hamburgers, instead of little ones. That’s a double instead of a single, and a single would have been plenty. Next time, we’ll know.

So, today, healthier homemade food seemed in order. There’s nothing like a soup when trying to eat a lighter meal. I found a bag of Trader Joe’s potstickers in the freezer, so I put together an Asian-flavored soup. Chicken stock was simmered with aromatics to flavor the broth. Then, I added carrots and leeks and cooked them until they were no longer crispy. Then, the frozen dumplings cooked in the broth. Finally, I wilted baby spinach in the soup, garnished the bowl with cilantro and Sriracha, and it was dinner. The soup was hearty, but at the same time, not heavy, and most importantly, delicious!

Potsticker Soup
Serves 4

8 cups chicken stock
1 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and julienned
1 tablespoon soy sauce
¼ cup dry sherry
2 tablespoons black vinegar
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon sugar
Pinch of salt
3 or 4 carrots, peeled and sliced thin on the diagonal
1 leek, white and light green part only, quartered and sliced thin
1 pound bag of frozen potstickers (chicken, pork, or vegetable)
4 cups baby spinach, washed
Cilantro leaves
Sriracha

In a large soup pot, combine chicken stock, ginger, soy sauce, sherry, vinegar, sesame oil, sugar and salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, and simmer for 15 minutes until the broth tastes gingery.

Add the carrots and leeks and simmer until just tender, about 5 minutes. Add frozen potstickers, and cook another 5 minutes. Stir in spinach, and cook until it just wilts, just a minute or two.

Ladle into bowls and garnish with cilantro leaves and a squirt of Sriracha.