Swapping Soup & Politics on the Eastside

Lisa lives in Kirkland, a suburb across the lake from Seattle. Their soup swap, happened almost a month ago, after the Washington State caucus.

While she writes in detail about it as the Nerd Eye View guest blogger, here some highlights:

Sherry.
Homemade ricotta on Cafe Nouveau bread.
Moonshadow honey.
Family recipes brought by friends
Dead Granny's (x3) table ware (I know...I know, but what she writes is so sweet)
Hot Single Guy Getting Cookies in Trade
Girl Power
Good Soup

You'll also find, mixed in with a point of view on the Washington State Caucus, a recipe for Leek and Sorrel Soup. I love the underutilized herb, sorrel. It adds a great bright lemony taste, and Lisa grows her own, because, as she notes, you need a LOT of sorrel in most recipes and it wilts to almost nothing.

Lisa's a great writer, and so I'll let her finish off this post about Kirkland's first soup swap with more details on her Leek and Sorrel Soup.

The leek and sorrel soup came of a desire to do something with the sorrel I have growing in my garden. It’s a lemony herb. You can find it sometimes at farmer’s markets or in small clamshell herb packs. It’s a cinch to grow and is impossible to kill. It tastes great in a salad with other greens, like a little surprise of lemon. The recipe requires a lot of sorrel, so find some seeds, plant them, and next fall you can enjoy the soup.

Saute two leeks (the white a light green part, sliced and well rinsed) in olive oil. Or butter if you’re feeling decadent. When they’ve softened, add a good pinch of salt and some ground pepper. Add a quart of chicken or vegetable broth, or water in a pinch. Use the low sodium stuff if you didn’t make you’re own. Add two chopped red, yellow, or white potatoes (waxy type, not baking type). I suppose you could use purple but who knows what color the soup would come out. I don’t peel mine, but you can if you want. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer and cook until the potatoes are tender. Mash the potatoes in the pot and add in six cups (loosely packed) of washed sorrel leaves removed from any big stems. Sorrel is one of those herbs like basil that turns a blackish brown when cooked. Oh well. When it’s cooked down, take a stick blender and puree, or put it in a blender in two batches and blend. Adjust the seasonings. It freezes magnificently.

If you have a ton of sorrel in your garden, you can freeze it. It looks awful after you take it out of the freezer, but no different than when cooked. That way you can enjoy it without having to spend a fortune buying a dozen clamshells of the stuff.

Woo hoo! That's the way to extend the "group hug" of caucus into a swell afternoon of Soup Swap, Kirkland! We're so happy to get the update and you girls look awesome, but I gotta say, we want to see the guy behind the camera! (wink).

West Seattle Soup Swap II

We had to take a break mid-swap to look at the spectacular pink light caused by the West Seattle sunset, but it only added to the glow. 10 swappers, 10 soups, and one local celebrity blogger (nope, not me, but rather our own West Seattle Blog). The prizes? Sea salt, fitting for those of us who imagine we live in a seaside town. Good local snacks, too - cheese from our farmer's market, bread from our excellent bakery... all in all, another West Coast success story!

Injury Rate Mars West Seattle Soup Swap

West Seattle: A 50% injury rate! Yikes!

Brenda writes,

"The West Seattle Soup Swap went off without a hitch. But... that is not to say that the soup making did. We had just 4 soups represented at our swap but two of the chefs were injured during the cooking process. One came to the soup swap with a burnt nose from getting to close to the big pot and another had to go to the emergency room after a food allergy to her first soup. Don't worry she dumped that one and tried a different recipe for the actual swap."

If you thought Oregon's famous Beer Cheese soup was odd but sounded delicious (and I received plenty of emails about it), West Seattle's big hit was Buffalo Wing Chicken Soup! I can imagine why that would be popular. Brenda points to the recipe here: http://www.recipezaar.com/109295

Way to go West Seattle, it sounded like a great swap!

With over thirty swaps in the next week alone, we remind everyone, stay safe!

At First Broth: Confessions of a Soup Swap Newbie

I've been invited to the Seattle Soup Swap for a few years now, but for various reasons (work, prior social engagements, lack of actual soup) have never made it to one. That all ends next week.

I've been fantasizing about my debut Soup Swap appearance quite a bit. My quarts would be the first to go, no question. They'd look that good. Eventually one would find its way to a quick lunch with a visiting guest who would happen to work for the Food Network, which would happen to be casting a new "Soups of the World" show (naturally), and the rest would be soup history. I'd be borchting in Moscow via Web cam by Soup Swap '09.

The reality of things is much different: I seem to be inept at pairing produce and heat with much success lately and I'm a busy girl. My full calendar and empty pot are already taunting me with the threat of another missed Swap. But I'm determined! Even if I have to add a pinch of pepper and a sprig of something to six quarts of Cream of Mushroom soup and call it a secret family recipe I'll be there, soup in hand. I'm kidding. Maybe. See you in Judkins Park.

Yonder Sea: Soup Swap In "Japan"

West of Seattle, there's a large body of water. The light is different over there, and we often ask our friends, "Who's going to stamp our visa so we can go home?"

Here in the city, we call that distant land "Japan". On the maps, it's labeled West Seattle. While hardly a mythic place of people wearing kimonos, it does seem far and remote, especially, since you can still find houses to buy out there for under a half million.

Brenda, obviously out looking for worms, is starting her soup swap EARLY. It is the earliest Soup Swap we've ever heard of and makes me think they are going to drink coffee and sup on cake, instead of wine and cheese. And in other news: IT IS THIS WEEKEND!!!

If you are here on the Pacific Rim and want to swap soup NOW, here's your chance! Drop Brenda a line, here.

West Seattle: Saturday, Jan 12, 10:30 am.
Read a bit about it at Nerds Eye View.

New Soup Swaps x 10

Gone for the weekend, I returned to an email box filled with many new and returning Soup Swaps. Over the week, you can look forward to seeing some great invites to swaps in Connecticut, New York, Indiana, Colorado, Minnesota, Virginia and Kansas, and Washington!

If you're hosting a swap and want to see your invite here, drop us a note.

Inspiration Found: Kirkland, WA

Separated from Seattle by a large lake and gridlock on a scary bridge, new Kirkland is an upscale, waterfront mini-Cali here in the rainy Northwest.

Mainly known for its hotties and trophy wives (I guess I'd fit right in!), it's about to get famous for Soup Swapping. Lisa, the journalist who wrote last month's article in the USA Today Weekender, caught the bug and will be hosting her own Eastside Soup Swap (and word is her Mother is doing one as well...) on January 23.

Seattlites! You now have at two options!

You Can't Taste Frozen Soup

These pictures arrived in my inbox late last week from the recent Seattle Soup Swap in Madrona. They did not come with an explanation. So here it goes...

You can not taste frozen soup.

You can pretend and imagine. You can play around. You can goof off. But you can not taste frozen soup.

As everyone starts preparing to host Soup Swaps around the country, one of the biggest questions folks have is, "How will I know if I like the soup if I can not taste it?" You can not! It is part of the mystery and fun of Soup Swap and also a life lesson in making sure you pick out your friends for life who can cook good food.

We're not sure if this group in Madrona will be swapping again for National Soup Swap Day, or if some of them will wander down the hill to the Swap in Judkins Park. Either way, if they're in your hood, feel free to drop them a line to find out.