Soup Is Good Food

When it comes to foods that are welcoming, warming, enveloping and accepting, nothing in our culture compares to soup. It’s hospitality in a bowl, and while it can come in versions that are fancy and sophisticated, it’s generally thought of as hearty, rustic and cozy.

In the case of Soup Sisters, the dish is not just symbolic, but literal. This organization really does bring people together to make soup for local shelters.

Started in March 2009 in Calgary by optician Sharon Hapton, Soup Sisters just recently created a Toronto branch of an organization they hope will spread right across Canada.

Soup Sisters was founded with a mandate to nurture and nourish woman and children who are victims of family violence and domestic abuse by providing fresh home made soups to shelters,” explains Hapton. “We think that soup is the ultimate kind and simple gesture and when community people come together it becomes a strong voice against domestic abuse. It’s also really easy to make in groups and virtually impossible to mess up!”

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Channel Surfing

Somewhere in the transfer of cable services from home A to home B, we ended up with a bunch of cable channels we didn’t have before. Besides the fact that we are cheapasses and refuse to pay for a bunch of channels that we mostly don’t watch, we made the well-thought-out decision to cancel all but basic cable a few years back for one specific reason.

I yell at the Food Network.

Honestly, I am flabberghasted that there are unsuspecting housewives out there, tuning in to the Food Network, thinking that they’re going to get decent advice on anything to do with cooking.

(NOTE – with the possible exception of Alton Brown. He’s an alright guy.)

Of course, the extra channels that we are now burdened with include the Food Network, and I have quickly gotten sucked in again. It’s been a few years, so many of the faces are new (although I see that BAM! guy is still there, mucking things up), but it’s reassuring to see that one can get a job hosting a cooking show without any damn idea of how to cook. Note that many of the people I mention below appear on the Canadian Food Network so you US folks might not recognize everyone. [1]

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