This post is part of a blog series in which I review books I’ve read—and then give them away to one lucky reader when I’m finished! In part because I love to share the books I’ve loved myself; and in part because I sure don’t need to keep all the books I’ve read. If you’d like to recommend a book for me to review, feel free to contact me.
Also, before I begin…I have a confession. I launched this book review series this spring and promptly got hung up on book two. The reasons are complex. I got busy. I sort of forgot for a while. And also? I loved this cookbook, and didn’t want to give it away just yet. I’ve solved this problem by remembering I can just buy a second one to give away. Doh. If I had thought of this (stupidly) simple solution earlier, you would have already known about this fabulous cookbook by now…and for that I am sorry.
I’m going to brush my shame and regrets aside, now, and tell you about the book.
The Soup Club Cookbook is a book written by four friends who decided to form a soup club. Each one would take turns cooking a huge batch of soup and delivering it to the other club members one week, then sit back for three weeks as soup was delivered to her family. After taking turns for a few years and loving it, they decided to share the concept—and the recipes—in this delightful cookbook.
The pictures are gorgeous, and I immediately fell madly in love with the HUGE recipes for soup. You know, the amazing secret of the double batch and all. Even if you don’t form a soup club (I’ll tell you about my modified version in a minute), you’ll find no shortage of hungry mouths to devour your soup—I’ve made a half a dozen of them already. Some of them I packaged and froze the leftovers for Jon and I (which makes soup & hot sandwiches a simple staple in our weekly meal plan, especially in winter!). You know what else soup is good for? Giving away. I shared a batch of Yellow Split Pea Soup with my husband’s grandparents while they were recovering from a hospital visit, and brought a jar of Cuban Black Bean Soup to some friends after they had a baby.
I’ll be totally honest—the idea of a soup club as outlined in the book doesn’t thrill me. I love the idea of sharing dinners, but committing to a schedule of making a huge pot of soup each month isn’t super realistic for me right now. (It’s an all-afternoon project to make one of these soups, at least the way I cook.) But a friend and I have come up with a delightful alternative: a soup club of two. My friend Mollee and I plan to get together about once a month, and make a huge batch of soup together. The process goes a lot faster with two people, plus we have tons of fun chatting and catching up as we cook. (Isn’t cooking with friends the greatest? This book can be a new excuse to do it.) Aside from the benefits of not cooking alone, each of us goes home with about a gallon of soup, plenty for several dinners.
I love the way the cookbook is organized—aside from the obvious soup recipes (like Roasted Broccoli Soup, Winter Corn Chowder, Red Lentil Curry and Post-Thanksgiving Turkey and White Bean Soup), you’ll get ideas and recipes for soup toppings (like homemade Crème Fraîche and DIY croutons) you’ll also get tips on cooking in large batches, recommendations for saving money and cooking seasonally, and a bonus bunch of non-soup recipes in the back of the book that lend themselves well for completing your soup meals, like quick breads and salads. On my short-list of recipes to make next are Cheddar Cornbread, Herbed Quinoa and Maple Butter Carrots.
I found this cookbook to be delightfully flexible in its uses in my kitchen. (Clearly, or I wouldn’t have so selfishly kept it to myself for half a year!) Whether you are looking to get more social with a cooking club, or you plan to use it yourself, this collection of recipes won’t disappoint.
Giveaway has ended
