20th of august, the usual 3rd monday

make it, swap it.
see ya.

email someone for location if you're a web-wanderer and wish to come...

july report

2 july 2007: a roaring success with soup and grilled portabellas and salad... and swapping of jars for the freezers.

16 july: next up!

there's no telling what we might bring, but i'd lay odds on at least 1 chilled soup making an appearance.

want to come? contact someone here by email and get directions!

what happened to may?

well, there was this convergence of people for the purpose of the building of villages and community energy and the soup swap kind of got lost somewhere amidst everything else which was going on as the host never received confirmation of plans... may ends.

june is coming.

there's something else big going on though, so will we actually swap??
portland's pedalpalooza begins happening june 7 and extends through the 23rd. under ordinary circumstances, there's a swap on june 18...

do we do it or skip it?!?

1 week and counting...

april's swap is *right* around the corner, coming soon to a kitchen near you on 16 April 2007 at 6pm. still a potluck dinner and still a good time...

this month has been confusing: is it time to switch to chilled summer soups yet or do we continue the warm & hearty winter soups until may? maybe we mix it up a bit so all conditions can be accounted for.

what will you bring?

here it comes again!

next swap slated for 19 mar 2007, 6pm.
it'll be a combination soup-swap and potluck dinner, likely featuring 1 soup as a dinner course.

last month's soups included:
a creamy tomato
spinach/potato/garbanzo
a coconut curry w/tofu
something leeky-vegetable-like

what does march bring?
please respond to this post with your souply intent!
and send an email if you need the address.

Sunday Soup Base

Part of the appeal of Soup Swap, for me, is the simplicity. I have a crazy-busy life and want to be able to enjoy quick, inexpensive meals at the end of my crazy days. I have really gotten hooked on being able to grab soup out of the freezer and warm it up during the week

In keeping with the notion of keeping it simple, I devised an easy way to make soup stock while I am puttering around the house working on papers and cramming for exams. I thought I would share one of my methods for keeping myself in soup despite a frenetic schedule.

Throughout the week, I collect the ends and bit and leftovers of veggies from the meals I make: for example, if I am making a recipe that calls for half an onion, I chop up the whole onion ad reserve one half; similarly, I save the tops of fennel and beets, the bottoms of celery and broccoli, the last little bits of ginger root. All of these are collected in a container in the fridge, along with any veggies left over after meals. When the weekend rolls around, I pour a bit of olive oil into my slow cooker, set it on high, and add one fresh chopped onion.
While the onion browns just a bit, I run any other 'spare' veggies I have on hand through my mandolin, these are combined with the collected veggies from the week and added to the browned onion. I fill the slow cooker with water, drop in a couple Bay leaves, turn the slow cooker down to low, and let it coast for most of the day.
As I get started on my homework and other chores, the house fills with the most magical aromas! At the end of the day I strain the broth, and either start a batch of soup with it, or divide it into single quart freezer containers and put them in the freezer for later use.

For just a few minutes spent in the kitchen, I get 4 or 5 quarts of broth. If I really stay on top of it, I can produce 6 quarts of soup each week, more often I manage to keep a good supply of soup base on hand, plus a couple varieties of soup.

We had a great first soup swap, and cant wait to make a monthy event of it. Soups include the best Vegetible Soup I have ever taisted, a
Black Beab and barley soup, and a Harvest Sweet potatoe that was blended in a bike-powered blender!

So far, all of the folks in our group are both vegitarian and cyclists, so we had a lot to chat about, and I think some good friendships where made. I have had a frantically busy week, and it as been such a blessig to come and warm home made soup for dinner!
and we are all looking forward to meet on the last Monday of each month, details to follow