Soup Swapping in Roz...

Sometimes the Internet makes you want to be other people.

Mark and Christi both have a command of the Internet that gives you a peak into their lives that inspires and intrigues. Maybe it's the off-cropped photos or the beer swilling during croquet, but personally, I think I want to know these people.

When you read about their soup swap in Roslindale, Massachusetts, I think you'd likely agree. For a full recap, including those recipes everyone is always asking about, you can check out Mark's dedicated page to the Roz Soup Swap 2008, here.

There he writes about Soup and Not Soup, "The winner this year (meaning the first to be completely out) was due to my sister’s ‘Strawberry Soup.’ This cold soup has been brought up on allegations of not really being a soup by NPY. When I did a post-party call with him the next day he complained and said that it wasn’t really soup and that it was mearly a milkshake that had been thawed. (I don’t care what it was... it was good.)"

I vote Soup. But I'm skeptical of strawberries in January in MA, so maybe Not Soup Based on Validity of Ingredients.

Christi meanwhile spent some time with packaging. Here's something interesting that I did not know (see, her blog is that way), there is a rule to Bento, which should include a wrapping cloth or furoshiki. "I found some old notes researching bento (A bento is traditionally made in a 4:3:2:1 ratio... 4 parts of rice, 3 parts of the main dish [either meat or fish], 2 parts of vegetables, and 1 part of a serving of pickled vegetables or a dessert) and furoshiki for a post, so I maybe went a little overboard with my packaging..." I think her packaging is swell and you can look at it here. It obviously moved her soup a heck of lot faster than murph's.

In May, we're back for some East Coast work and vacation, and I hope to be sitting down in some pub drinking beer with these folks. Yep. Check their blogs, won't you?

Soup Swap 2009!

Cambridge, MA: No Injuries Reported

I had really hoped for more violence. As Master of Soupemonies, I did my best to goad Cambridge's swappers into exaggeration, deceit, logrolling, pushing, and shoving. But all in attendance were far too classy to lower themselves to my level. In the end, this year's Swap was a model of breezy charm with a mere undercurrent of highly strategic optimizing. We improved from last year to 16 swappers, 13 soups, and no injuries.

The tally:

• First selected: toutbeurre's something-or-other. I don't even remember what she made and it doesn't matter. She's a professional chef. When in doubt, grab her soup before it's gone.
  
• First sell-out: stripeyg's wonton soup kit. A multi-step affair with noodles, homemade wontons, and frozen broth cubes. I calculated nobody would pick something so labor-intensive and was shocked when it didn't even survive the first round. Thank Gods that I had two rotation slots or I would have missed it.
  
• Welcome compromise: meat on the side. youraverageninj served a red pepper bisque with removable shrimp. My ultra-pandering Beer Cheese Soup arrived with a separate Bacon Pack. Wontons were available in pork and veg varieties. This enabled everyone to find their own dietary way without feeling marginalized or oppressed.
  
• Subtle marketing ploy: During her Telling, greatdane managed to casually let slip that she attended cooking school in France. We all then realized that you don't try to outsell a management consultant, especially when she's armed with creamy pesto.
  
• Kitchen equipment infomercial: fanw convinced us simultaneously of the virtues of her butternut squash and the glories of the immersion blender.
  
• No pain, no gain: countlibras cried through five pounds of onions to bring us a french onion soup. Other chefs suffered for their art as well. Your collective sacrifice is appreciated by all.
  
• Videographer: aerynne found the movie mode on my camera, capturing several Tellings for posterity. Her apple-based soup, on the other hand, will certainly be gone very soon.
  

Thanks to all for a successful Swap. cinnebarine is lightning-quick with a jpeg download and beat me to posting by several hours. Enjoy your soups now, and remember to start thinking of next year's recipes when your breath first clouds autumn's air.

Soup Swap: V2

In an effort to get all the recent Soup Swap news up and into your hands, here's a bit of a mash up:

Some returning Soup Swappers, experienced hands all, hosting for a second time!

Mark and Kristi, handy at graphic design and the web, have a swell web-based invite, here. Last year they were in Providence, but this year finds them just south of Boston, in the trendy Roslindale neighborhood. Contact them, here, about their swap on Saturday, January 26.

Joseph made an amazing food post last year as he methodically went through his swapped soup, pairing them with friends and delicious sides. It sounds to me that his friends really know how to cook. They are swapping in Fayetteville, Arkansas on Sunday, February 3. Joseph says he's been a bit surprised by the overwhelming interest in it, but if you read last year's post, you'll understand why everyone in the Diamond State is clamoring for an invite.

Suddenly quiet, the folks in New Hampshire are reclaiming their televisions and public spaces from the political campaign. Tim says they may break their record for snow this year. I am not sure if he was serious or not when he said they'd get 52 feet of the white stuff. These people need soup. The Upper Valley is a collection of hamlets along the Vermont border that include Lebanon, Hanover, and White River Junction. They are holding it this year at the "local museum of oddities, the Main Street Museum" on January 23rd. You can read about it at the UVScene.com and contact him, here, for more information.

For you newbies, any of these folks are also great resources if you have questions on how to ensure you soup swap is a stunning success!

Save the Date! Roslindale, MA

Taking a page from our pals at Gracious Bowl, Kristi and Mark up in Boston are designing fab invites to cheer their friends in the bleakness that is New England winter. (Ok, to have 3 bracingly clear days would be swell about now out in Seattle...). Mark sent this on a few days ago, and we post it to encourage all the groups to the greatness that lies within you! What a swell invite.

It is making me think it is time to send out invites. We'll be posting ours soon and sending out emails with tips on hosting a Soup Swap. Look for them this week!

If you are in Boston out past that orange line and like swapping soup on the weekends, you can drop Mark a note, here.

If you'd rather stay on the Cambridge side of things and want to swap on National Soup Swap day, check in here.

If you'd just like to be included on our mailing list and start receiving tips on hosting Soup Swap, drop me a note, here.

Cambridge, MA: Porter Square

Living in a ski lodge within Boston Metro must be quite the life. It seems that Wolftone and Dr. Sunflare are making Soup Swap a long standing tradition, now having participated or hosted three years running.

THREE YEARS!

They also posted one of my favorite photos from last year's national Soup Swap, as they had quite an alter of soup and very heavy boxes filled with the stuff.

Word is they'll be swapping on the 23rd, meaning that the intrepid folks in the Boston area could easily manage two swaps in one week! Pick between Upton or Cambridge and then head over a couple days later to Mark's Roslindale party and you'd be set for that horrible March that lingers over Boston like a head cold.

Swap On, Massachusetts!