"Souper" Soup Making for the Super Bowl

That’s a lot of soup and chili! In fact, 38 quarts to be precise, and four friends made it together in just three hours. Not so shabby! You may wonder how it’s even possible to make such a variety and quantity in such a short time frame. Well, I’ll share a few secrets to our success.

First, there’s the comfort factor. We’ve done it many times before together and we girls just know how to move and groove about one another making room peeling, slicing and dicing. There’s something to be said about being good, seasoned friends in a kitchen where there’s no shyness about opening drawers and cabinets and speaking one’s mind. And as for “room”, that’s another contributing success factor. Christina offers up her fabulous kitchen with its large center island and enormous 6 burner stove which fits many friends and countless pots and pans. It just wouldn’t have been possible in my petite (cramped) kitchen. So thanks Christina! And then, there’s the lack of any real plan that I also believe keeps us efficiently moving along. Since there are no recipes to bog us down, no set menu du jour — just a ton of vegetables, stock and man (or lady) power to get the job done — we chug along improvising while creating tons and tons of soup.

All that soup is tucked away in Christina’s freezer, where it waits until tomorrow for the Sixth Annual “Souper Bowl.” The premise of the event has always been well received since it’s about friends getting together to cook and bond while making soup for other friends in need. It’s an easy, pleasurable way to give something much needed to the community. So, tomorrow, when clients of our local food pantry shop for some homemade soup to enjoy while watching the Super Bowl this coming weekend, we hope they know how much we enjoyed the process of making it together. We’ll savor our good times, hoping some warm soup made by friends will be much enjoyed.

Broccoli Soup
Makes 4 Quarts

2 heads of broccoli, washed and stems removed
3 tablespoons olive oil or butter
2 small onions, peeled and quartered
2 shallots, peeled and sliced
4 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced
1 teaspoon salt
Pepper to taste
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
2 quarts of stock (Chicken or veggie)

In a medium sized soup pot (4 quart sized), heat butter or oil (or a combination of the two) over medium heat. Sauté the shallots and onions for about 7 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the broccoli and potatoes and cover with stock. Bring to a boil and turn heat down and simmer until vegetables are tender. Puree using an immersion blender if you have one. Add the cheese and stir until smooth, seasoning with salt and pepper.