S1 - EP 5 - Chicken Soup With Rice

Some days your voice is shot, your mood is worse, and the show must go on anyway. We hit record feeling rough and found our way back to calm with a pocket-sized classic from Maurice Sendak and a steaming lineup of plant-based soups that actually help. This is a cozy, slightly chaotic ride from grumbles to comfort, and it might be exactly what your next sick day needs.

We start with the tiny treasure Chicken Soup With Rice from Sendak’s 1962 Nutshell Library and unpack why a rhythmic, low-lift read can reset a frazzled brain. The magic isn’t nostalgia alone; it’s structure. Gentle rhyme, seasonal anchors, and sensory imagery create a metronome for the mind, easing the effort of focus when you’re tired or under the weather. Along the way, we touch on Sendak’s timeline relative to Where the Wild Things Are, and why these small-format books still sell and still soothe.

From there, we pivot to practical comfort: vegetarian soup swaps that offer warmth without compromise. Spring minestrone for brightness and fiber, butternut squash with turmeric for silky ease, ginger noodle for heat and aroma, and green pea with carrots and a potato boost for a thick, satisfying spoonful. We break down why warm broth feels so good when you’re sick: hydration, easy digestion, mucus flow, and the role of salt for those who can tolerate it. It’s comfort food backed by simple physiology, not just folklore.

Things get delightfully weird with an experimental lullaby and a mad dash toward the studio commissary’s couch, but the takeaway lands clean: build a reset stack for tough days. One short, soothing read. One warm bowl tailored to your needs. One honest nap. If you’ve ever tried to push through when your body said stop, this conversation offers tools and permission to ease up. If it brings you a small moment of relief, share it with a friend who needs one too. Subscribe, leave a quick review, and tell us your go-to comfort read or soup—we’re collecting favorites for a listener guide.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

It's time for Baby Baby and Evil Glaxi's Book Point Book Review Podcast. Book Reviews Incarnate.

SPEAKER_01 0:12

Good morning, baby. This is awful. You sound awful. Baby between starring roles and I need the money. Well. Gosh, I don't feel good, Gloxy. I don't want to be here, but I've got to be here. But please, Gloxi, no book reviews today. Really?

SPEAKER_00 0:26

None?

SPEAKER_01 0:27

Yeah, none, please. I'm just not in the mood. I just want to sulk in the corner and watch people and try to smile falsely.

A Feel-Good Pick: Sendak’s Classic

SPEAKER_00 0:36

Well, that's later on, but I've got the perfect feel-good book for you, baby. Just listen. Marie Sendak's chicken soup with rice.

SPEAKER_01 0:45

But Gloxy, I'm a vegetarian. I don't eat soup.

SPEAKER_00 0:48

No, there's also vegetarian options, you know. Well, we'll cover them later. But the bottom line is Maurice Sendak wrote this book in 1962 as part of his Nutshell Library book box.

SPEAKER_01 0:59

That's where the wild things are.

Vegetarian Soup Swaps For Comfort

SPEAKER_00 1:01

Well, it was written even before Where the Wild Things Are, which was written in 1963. That's what I learned over here. The Maurice Sendak box set of Nutshell Library came out in 1962. And it's still for sale today in its almost original form in a little box of books.

SPEAKER_01 1:18

That's wonderful.

SPEAKER_00 1:20

Here's one of the lines from it. And maybe it'll make you feel better, baby. In January, it's so nice while slipping on the sliding ice to sip hot chicken soup with rice. What? Sipping once, sipping twice, sipping chicken soup with rice.

SPEAKER_01 1:35

Isn't that fun? No, Gloxi, it's chicken soup.

SPEAKER_00 1:37

Well, say minestroti soup with rice.

SPEAKER_01 1:40

I ought to work. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 1:42

I know you don't like chicken soup, baby, but you could always put a vegetarian option in place.

SPEAKER_01 1:46

Like what, Gloxi?

SPEAKER_00 1:47

Well, according to Prevention magazine, spring ministroti with homemade pests. You mentioned that earlier. All vegetarian.

SPEAKER_01 1:54

Sorry, I know you said that.

SPEAKER_00 1:55

Butternut squash and turmeric soup is an excellent choice. Oh my gosh. Gingerly noodle soup's another choice.

SPEAKER_01 2:01

I think I need some soup.

SPEAKER_00 2:02

Green pea soup with carrots is wonderful. Always good with a little bit of potato in it. Makes it thick and wholesome and wonderful.

Why Warm Soup Helps Sore Throats

SPEAKER_01 2:10

My throat sounds horrible.

SPEAKER_00 2:11

According to Penn Medicine, it's already mostly in liquid form, so it's easily digested by your body and it feels good on the sore throat.

SPEAKER_01 2:20

That sounds really good right now, Glexy. You're right.

SPEAKER_00 2:22

Some people can tolerate salt, and they can use a salty soup. A lot of people that can't tolerate salt can use the broth-like texture to feel good on their throat.

SPEAKER_01 2:32

I need some soup or something like that.

SPEAKER_00 2:34

Well, our bookstore is in a movie studio, so there's a real nice commissary here that has all sorts of wonderful warm soups. Vegetarian and otherwise, baby.

SPEAKER_01 2:43

I'll go check it out. I may even take a big old nap down there. They have a real nice couch, too. I'm gonna probably just curl up and go to sleep for about an hour while I'm there. Okay, Glossy? Sorry.

SPEAKER_00 2:53

If you're gonna take a nap, you're gonna need a lullaby.

SPEAKER_01 2:56

No, Glossy's no salt.

SPEAKER_00 2:58

And this is my new way of doing it. I grow three heads. Always funny. Here goes. This is horrible! Oh, that's welcome. When the drawer breaks falls on the floor. Then from the damage, the dresser will fall. Down the buttons, but how do you like that? That's pretty cool.

Signoff And Subscribe

SPEAKER_01 3:28

Oh my gosh, Gloxy, I gotta get out of here. That was the most disgusting, weirdest thing I've ever seen in my life. Oh, how do you do that? I can't believe I live with you. I gotta go, Gloxy. Goodbye. I gotta go get well.

SPEAKER_00 3:40

Okay, I'm gonna wrap this up then today. I hope you enjoyed our podcast today. Like and subscribe wherever you like and subscribe, and look forward to see you guys again sometime soon. Tune in for our next one. Thanks. Bye.