UV Scene's Second Soup Swap

You can say that several times for grins, eh?

The Upper Valley is located in the cold land on the border that makes up Vermont and New Hampshire.

To tell you how behind we are making posts for the great number of Soup Swap, they hosted theirs on National Soup Swap Day, January 23.

We tried giving a Tim a call from Seattle for a serious bicoastal shout-out, but alas they were having so much loud fun, they never heard the phone ring. There are not a lot of people living there...so you can imagine how loud they like their fun not to hear phones ring.

Writes Tim about the swap,

Truth be told, the phone was in my bag off to the side, and we were all pretty engaged in some mad swapping at the time. Here's a quick summary (I'll give you a more detailed entry once I get the photos together):

- we had 5 participants and 5 soups for swapping -- potato leek, buffalo chicken, carrot honey nutmeg, vegetarian lentil, and a split pea & smoked ham.
- collected 10 cans of soup for a local food pantry
- we also all opted to give one of our quarts (each) to a co-worker of one of the swappers -- she broke her back sledding a few weeks ago (!!!!) and is laid up pretty bad...she and her husband have 2 little kids, so any help we could give them we were more than happy to do. Needless to say, the healing power of soup will be put to the test.

It was a smash success and we're all eager to break into some soup!

Thanks again for this awesome idea -- you've got us hooked for years to come. Someday we can have a cross-country soup swap!

Like we said last year, if there was ever a place deserving of a cross country soup airlift, this bitter cold land is it.

Well done to the UV scene (you can read their smack talk here...) and we'll see you next winter at National Soup Swap 2009!

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!

Old Friends + New Cities

With winter fully underway, we're getting mail from lot of folks with information about their Soup Swapping plans.

Here's some of what we're hearing:

Mark & Christi, formerly of Providence, have relocated to Boston and are planning on holding their second swap as a wild-times party, Saturday, January 26th.

Portland, Oregon's energized West Foodies Group & The Hens is talking about bumping theirs up to an earlier date in January due to a dancing competition in Nashville.

The UV Scene will be hosting another Soup Swap in the far northern reaches of the Upper Valley in New Hampshire (and likely glad all the politicians have left). The UV includes White River Junction, Lebanon, Hanover, Norwich, and all the hamlets there on the border between New Hampshire and Vermont.

Bad Home Cooking and all their friends will be swapping again in Long Beach, CA.

Eleanor, of amuse-bouche, will host a second swap, and is looking for a bigger place to hold it due to the interest in last February's swap in Southport, North Carolina.

A new group is getting going in Upton, MA (west of the 495) and there's another Jersey party starting in Bergen County. We've heard of some interest for groups in Milwaukee, WI and NYC, though not clear if they're hosting or looking to join other groups.

We'd be glad to add you to our list of cities holding soup swaps! Just drop a note! We can post an announcement or invites, or list your city with a contact email. We'll add you to our mailing list, and help you keep up-to-date on all the fun of Soup Swap.

UV Scene's Granite State Swap

These people don't need a lousy Soup Swap, they need a Soup Airlift! Forget canned food drives for the locals, if there was justice in the world, our friends in balmy climes like Oakland, Azusa, Fayetteville, and yes, even in Seattle, would forgo their soup and just box it up and Fed Ex it to these unfortunate people.

Land of Polar Bears! Penguins skate on the ponds! I am sayin' "BRRRRRR" to New Hampshire.

Word from Tim in the Upper Valley is the UV Scene's first soup swap was a smashing success, "We had a blast -- four of us prepared a bounty of soup to swap and share some good times. We had cassoulet, pasta e fagioli, black bean soup and crab & corn chowder".

You can take a look at the Tim's prep and the Soup Swap with its famous blue containers at his Flickr site, here.

They're excited up in the UV and we're excited for them. While they are busy planning more swaps to get through the next six months of winter they have (the madness!), we certainly hope to see them back for the 2nd National Soup Swap Day next January.

Upper Valley Soup Swap: Tomorrow!!!

If you happen to live in the wintery land that is the Upper Valley of New Hampshire/Vermont (White River Junction, Lebanon, Hanover, Norwich), you still have 18 hours to prepare your soup and head to the UV Soup Swap. Heck, those states are small, so we say even if you live in the LV, UUV, the WV, or even the EV, you should go, because it will obviously "be going on!"

We love this invite and introduction to the UV Scene Soup Swap Society. They rule. And may God bless them until it warms up.

Yo! New Hampshire!

Hey, you in the Granite State, drop us a line! Tell us about your Soup Swap next week, won't you? Send us a picture!

New Hampshire, we love you.