Leave Some Time For Fun With Quick Soup Recipe

Two of my sisters, three years apart in age, celebrate birthdays on Valentine’s Day. My mother very appropriately named them Melody and Joy.

“I love sharing my birthday with Melody,” says Joy Rozanski, 35, of Bristol, R.I. “Growing up, we always had two cakes, which was fun. We have a real bond.”

“It’s delightful,” adds Melody Phelps, 38, of Gardner, Mass. “The best part of Valentine’s Day is that I have a sister to share a birthday with.”

Nowadays, my sisters try to get together to celebrate sometime around Feb. 14. They usually meet for lunch at a location halfway between their homes.

For a birthday gift every year, Rozanski asks her husband Mark to cook dinner; when the day falls on a weekend, he’ll often make breakfast, too. She loves to eat fish - but not cook it - so he fixes baked, stuffed sole, shrimp or haddock. Their two daughters, Hannah, 5, and Grace, 3, help make a white cake and decorate it with pink or red frosting.

Phelps’ husband, Jay, is very good at coming up with surprises for his wife’s birthday. “I usually give him hints but those fall on deaf ears,” she says.

In the past he’s treated her to the Boston Flower Show, a gourmet dinner at a romantic restaurant, a home-cooked brunch and a walk along the ocean shores at nearby Hampton Beach.

Phelps thinks birthdays are a time to give back to others; last year she made a chili dinner for people at work, and this year she’s planning to play her Irish drum for a group with Alzheimer’s disease.

So happy birthday/Valentine’s Day to you, dear sisters.

Here’s a quick but delicious soup recipe that will leave you time to create heart-shaped cakes, or just put together a bowl of jiggly red gelatin squares.

Fifteen-Minute Ginger-Chicken Noodle Soup

From the Canned Food Alliance.

2 cups (3 ounces) medium egg noodles

2 (14-1/2-ounce) cans reduced-sodium chicken broth

1 (5-ounce) can chunk white chicken in water, drained

1 (4-ounce) can sliced mushrooms, drained

2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger

2 teaspoons reduced-sodium soy sauce

1/4 cup sliced green onions

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Cook noodles as package directs. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, in 2-quart saucepan over high heat, bring broth to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Mix in chicken, mushrooms, ginger and soy sauce. Simmer 3 minutes. Mix in noodles, onions and cilantro. Return to simmering to heat through. Ladle into soup bowls.

Yield: 4 servings.

Nutrition information per serving: 139 calories, 3 grams fat (19 percent fat calories), 15 grams carbohydrate, 14 grams protein, 28 milligrams cholesterol, 440 milligrams sodium.

, DataTimes MEMO: The goal of Five and Fifteen is to find recipes where you can do the shopping in five minutes and the cooking in 15. Merri Lou Dobler, a registered dietitian and Spokane resident, welcomes ideas from readers. Write to Five and Fifteen, Features Department, The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210.

The following fields overflowed: SUPCAT = COLUMN, RECIPE - Five and Fifteen