At this time of year you may feel that the cheer of the holiday season has left you. Merriment is over. Austerity sets in. Six more months of winter loom.
But wait! Rekindle that holiday spirit! January 21 is National Soup Swap Day! That means it’s time to plan a Soup Swap and encourage your guests to get cooking — or at least planning — right away.
I attended my first soup swap right here on Capitol Hill about a decade ago, but it wasn’t until 2007 that the Soup Swap movement went national. Since then there have been coordinated soup swaps from coast to coast on each National Soup Swap Day, and many, many more throughout the year. Bring it home, I say!
The premise is simple. You make six quarts of soup in your biggest pot. You freeze it in six separate 1-quart containers. You get together with your friends and neighbors. You trade. You go home with six new kinds of soup to heat up on a busy weeknight. (Maybe there are prizes.) The complete how-to and FAQ are on the Soup Swap website. It’s delicious. It’s easy. It’s fun.
Need some recipe inspiration? It’s not too late to try this pumpkin soup, or check out this Bacon and Black Bean Soup from Capitol Hill blog Salt on the Table. Soup Swap’s Facebook page also has recipe links, including a yummy-looking soup from local restaurant Lark.
Want to swap but all your friends are lousy cooks or too busy? Want to meet some new neighbors? If there’s enough interest in the comments below, we’ll see about organizing a CHS reader swap later in the month. Hosting a swap? Let us know how it goes!
Capitol Hill Cooks is a home cooking recipe series featuring ingredients, ideas, and recipes from the neighborhood. Have a recipe you think we should share? Drop us a line at [email protected]
I would love to swap! I’m new to the neighborhood and don’t know many people, though. Orphan soup swap??
but if CHS organizes a later event, please post it! This looks like fun
Let’s beat the soup line! Be spoon-ready.
Yes! I don’t have a large enough social circle of people who can be bothered to cook to pull this off. Plus almost everyone I know is a vegetarian which, while lovely, isn’t going to fulfill my need for the occasional soup with meat.
We’re hosting a soup swap on Capitol Hill in the lounge of our building (near Trader Joe’s) on Jan. 21 and would welcome any neighborhood residents interested in joining us. Email [email protected].
Join the Facebook page (link in this story) and you can find other soup lovers. :-)
My boyfriend and I would love to participate but don’t really know anyone else who would (we’re newish to the area). We would love to participate in a CHS swap!
I move into the neighborhood end of month and would love to be involved with one of these. Yummmm!
If we can get some RSVP’s.Saturday, January 21 6-8pm. (We have DJ’s later that night)
Thanks Diana — CHS is crunching the data and will have some updates very soon on the great Capitol Hill soup swap of 2012.
Yeah (YAH!), I’ll participate in an orphan soup exchange!
We’ll be hosting the “Founder’s Circle” Soup Swap this year in the Central District, also on the night of the 21st. You can get that invite by emailing me at [email protected].
We also will be hosting the third Central District only (you folks that are South of Madison and east of 12th will be invited through the Central District News. (Sorry, Cap Hill, but the CD has been all over this for years….) Still working on a date/location (a bar!), but look for that in mid-February!
The 2012 Soup Swap map is here: http://g.co/maps/75jxk
If you’re hosting, feel free to add your swap so people can find you (and we can delight in how many swaps will be going on!).
If you’re looking, well, check the map for a swap near you!
Soup Swap is also on Google+:
http://goo.gl/vslxt
Happy swapping!