saturday soup was a skeleton operation. it was the brainchild of a poor college student, who happens to love soup, cooking for others, and believed in the value of vegetarian and vegan lifestyles. that poor college student is me. every friday i would spend some of my savings on fresh produce, and prepare GALLONS of soup in my kitchen. on saturday mornings i would rise before the sun, and bake vegan biscuits. then i would fill out a personal message on each soup bag, and pack away the goods in my roommate's x-wing, which i used to deliver the soup.

believe it or not, this process took a lot of time, and money. i'd give away soup for free if i could, but like i said, i'm a poor college student, so i had to charge $4 for a pint or $6 for a quart. i didn't create saturday soup to make a profit. if i made a profit it was usually 20 some dollars, after you subtracted the cost of ingredients, packaging, and gas it took to fuel the x-wing. sometimes i barely broke even. that 20 some dollars went towards next week's soup.

the untimely demise of saturday soup occurred several months ago when i delivered broccoli rice soup. it was a big order, and i was excited to deliver it. i get a particular type of thrill when i walk up someone's walkway with a bag of soup in my hands. it makes me happy knowing that people will be eating (and hopefully enjoying) something i created. unfortunately, the broccoli rice soup would be the last saturday soup.

here's why: i don't mind when i show up at someone's house and they don't have the money on them, or they happen to just step out. i understand. i trust people and figure they'll pay me eventually. it happens now and then. no big deal. but on that fateful day, i only received payment from 2.5 of my soupies. there were a ton of orders, and i was out A LOT of money.

i assume that people figured, "oh, i'll pay her next time i see her" but unfortunately there was no next time. or maybe they thought, "i should send her a check for that $6 i owe" and then forgot about it because $6 doesn't seem like much. but $4 or $6 is a lot when MANY people owe you it. i'm not mad at anyone. i remember driving around that day with my roommate, delivering soup and laughing at the absurdity. i was never angry. and i'm not now. i'm just disheartened, because i really liked saturday soup and i still want to do it.

i hope to revive saturday soup this summer but i think i'll need to make some changes in the matters of payment, and delivery times. if anyone has any suggestions, email me at saturdaysoupGR@gmail.com.

the featured soup for this saturday (january 27) will be delicious brocolli rice. accompanied by bread. vegan as always. $4 for a pint. $6 for a quart. that's cheap for a hearty meal made with love.

interested?
shoot me an email.

remember to include your name, full address, amount of soup desired and preferred delivery time (before 1pm). see you this saturday!

saturday soup is not dead. just a hiatus of sorts. i have been busy visiting my family, earning a living, saying goodbye to friends (why do people constantly graduate and move away?) and contemplating the ceiling above my bed. i plan on resuming the soup making when the new semester starts up. until then i will be sitting in my apartment flipping through my favorite cook books and THINKING about creating something delicious. if anyone is bored and wants to make food with me (or feed me) drop me a line.

love sara.
saturdaysoupGR@gmail.com

ps. what do you think about vegan potato soup? it can be done! it will be.

he hates beets. hates them.

last saturday he ordered the vegetable soup. this morning he came into work and told me he really enjoyed the soup. "but why was it so pink?" he asked. i explained to him that the beets lose their pigment when they are placed in the hot soup.

"beets? what? i hate beets."

thus john beals learned that he doesn't hate beets after all.

sorry gang. but no soup this weekend. this weekend my roommate matt carey graduates from grand valley state university and i am going to spend that time celebrating with him. hope you understand.

this saturday i will be going back to the basics: a good old fashioned vegetable soup. have no fear-the soup and accompanying bread will be vegan. i'm really looking forward to eating this one, so if you don't end up ordering any this saturday, that's okay-the more for me!

and a head's up: the next installment of soup's on (benefit for god's kitchen of grand rapids) will be held on january 29, 2007 at the BOB. if i remember correctly it was at last year's soup's on in which our friend kevin timmer bid on and won a soup bowl decorated by none other than jennifer granholm.

some food for thought.

there will be no soup next saturday because of the thanksgiving holiday. i need to go home and see the family. catch up on sleep. and organize my thoughts. hope everyone has a good thanksgiving.

due to an incredibly busy week at school, i have yet to post photos of last saturday's soup. however, they are on their way. don't despair. in the meantime, enjoy these absolutely adorable photos of justin's son, thaden eating golden mushroom soup. these photos brightened a particularly rough tuesday.

thaden, you've got good taste! i have that same star wars plate at home.

and in case you're wondering, get ready for the acorn squash and kale soup this saturday. last saturday adam gave me a generous bag of kale that he and matt picked and i am excited that i found a recipe that incorporates both the kale AND the acorn squash my mother harvested from her garden this fall. by the way, this week's soup and bread will be vegan.

find out what autumn tastes like. as always email your orders to me.

the word soup comes from the teutonic word for suppa which refers to a medieval dish consisting of a thick stew poured over hardened peices of bread called sop. this concept of using sop is still implemented today. think french onion soup. The word restaurant was first used in France in the 16th century, to describe a highly concentrated, inexpensive soup, sold by street vendors called restaurer.

ronald reagan's favorite soup was hamburger soup.
william shatner's is carrot vichyssois.
and barbara walters likes roasted eggplant soup.

in case you were curious.

meanwhile, the soup orders are pouring in for this saturday.
and i am busy busy busy.

however, the real fun was had on saturday driving around in the x-wing making deliveries.

i should have grabbed my camera before heading out because i would have liked to have recorded some people's reactions. if you were not among those who ordered the chili last saturday, picture a timid, unwashed, sleep deprived little lady stepping out of an x-wing and tiptoeing a purple lunch bag up to your front door. that was me. my name is sara. glad to meet you.

on top of meeting new people, i had the chance to enter some of your homes. i entered the apartment of a grand valley state university professor only to discover that he had a little hobbit door leading off of his kitchen. he told us it led to the "rebel room" and indeed there was a rebel flag painted on the floor within. i know because i couldn't resist the urge to crawl through such a tiny door. the ceiling was so low that even i had to duck down. this rebel flag had probably been painted on the floor a half a century ago. strange.

anyway, next saturday the soup is golden mushroom. it is vegan as well as the accompanying bread. thank you to those of you who have already emailed me your orders. i look forward to tiptoeing up to your front door this saturday.

cashew chili

however, i was not immediately inspired to follow the soup peddler's lead. sunday night, i was in my tiny kitchen with someone i love very much. i recommend cooking with people you love because it adds a lot to the recipe. we were preparing chili because i had just visited chicago, where i had consumed the best chili of my entire life and i was hoping to recreate the experience. i tackled the tomatoes, onions, carrots and beans while my friend busied himself with the garlic and olives. throw in some sincere conversation, laughter and other key ingredients and we had ourselves a delicious chili which fed my roommates and i for the better part of the week.

i love cooking. more importantly, i love feeding people. i wish i could cook more. these were my thoughts when i was lying in bed the next morning. and it hit me. i will make soup and bread on friday nights and deliver it to my friends saturday. just in time for lunch. i will take pictures of them eating my soup. i will record their thoughts. i will use my soup to make friends and build bridges. i will cure colds and heal heartbreak with my soup. soup equals love and so on.

so for $4 i will deliver a pint of soup and fresh baked bread to your door on saturday. make it $6 and i will get you a quart. this will cover the ingredients, the packaging, and my travel expenses. i doubt i will make a profit. profit is not motivating me to embark on this project.

people connect over a hot meal. for example, food is the highlight of most family events because food is such a large part of cultural identity. when you think about pierogies you think about poland. when you think about borscht you think about russia or the ukraine. when you think about croissants you think about france. when you think about tamales or mole you think about spain or mexico. onigiri=japan. you get the idea.

as another michigan winter approaches, it seems that soup should be the medium. soup transcends most cultures. every culture i can think of has a popular soup. and now everyone i know has the chance to eat mine.

soup's on.

saturdaysoupGR@gmail.com