le gourmand pasta cycle

Its been awhile, but not forgotten.
The last soupcycle happened as a small batch of pasta salad (too hot for soup!) last Sunday and it was the most gourmet I've ever made. ooh deelishishness.
I bought all of the ingredients at Madison Market, early on Sunday morning, sort-of as an expensive whim. Upon returning I spread out my bounty on the kitchen table, admired it for awhile and then went to town cutting olives, roma tomatoes, parsley, green onion, roasted red peppers, green peppers, and a bunch of other stuff that I can't remember right now...
Anyway, it all came together with Katie's expert chopping help and once it was all tossed and marinating in redwine vinagrette, we divided it into as many containers as we had (about 18 or so) and off with the bob and cooler we went.
It ended up being the shortest soupcycle ever since we live at the top of Jackson and a really long gradual hill leads straight to the International District, Pioneer Square, and other gathering places of the people we serve. After about 30 minutes, the salad was gone and we biked back home, satisfied with the morning.
I ate some that I had set aside for lunch and then headed out for a hike with friends.
Have I ever mentioned that soupcycle sundays are the best? Well, they are.
thanks katie, and thanks mad market for keeping your groceries fresh, organic, mostly local, and worth a pretty penny.
Next month, potato salad.
love, shelly

Personals: New bike seeking bob's nuts. You won't be disappointed.

First, the last soupcycle was great!

It was a flurry of activity that morning when I realized the kitchen we normally cook from - CWB - was being used for a weekend-long event...but Mark graciously agreed to allow the explosion of pea soup to take over his apartment. Thanks to Mark for helping cook, and thanks Julia, for coming through at the last possible moment to cycle around the U-district and hunt down hungry people. We gave soup to more teens than we ever have, but found the U-district to be a little hostile in general. The highlight was giving soup to an exit ramp lady who was SO happy she practically hugged us.

The split pea recipe, from the lovely Emma, included hominy and sweet potato, plus a full bulb of roasted garlic. Totally delicious.

On Sunday the 31st we ride again, with a nutty soup in tow. Will be the inaugural soupcycle for my new bike! If you have any good recipes, want to ride around or want to donate ingredients, let me know. We'll most likely cook from my new casa in the Central District, and probably ride through the Intn'l District and Pioneer Square areas.

LOVE!
shelly

we peas, green sea, sweet split, soup tea

split pea is on the menu for this sunday.
i still don't have a bike that works with the bob.
need to work on that.
ok, come help cook and be merry! bring your bike!
love, shelly

soouhp la la

More French Lentil this month. I think it is officially my favorite, both in terms of eating and cooking. I love this soup. And I think the public likes this soup too - its always very popular even though many people ask "What is lentil?" Hmmm.. its a small, nutritious bean, I say.

This month's soup cycle had a hitch, as is now customary for each time we do this...there's always something that gets f-ed up. It started because I sold the silver fancy bike that the bob trailer fit perfectly with, but I was very happily riding my little yellow motobecane for the month of March. I (stupidly) did not make an attempt to fit bob's nuts onto the yellow bike until the morning of soup cycle, after I had already bought all of my ingredients and they were safely tucked into the blue cooler, ready to be wheeled to south lake union and made into soup.

It started by taking the wheel off, in a non-quick-release way. Then, we proceeded to pull out the thinga-ma-jigger inside the wheel hub and after awhile a bunch of ball bearings fell out onto the floor in a greasy lump. nice.

looking at the hole for the yellow bike's wheel as compared with bob's nuts, the two were never going to work well together - a doomed relationship. A flawed stimulus package. A limp, and lame, situation.

The only solution was to load the ingredients into the car as Mark hopped on his bike and rode down to CWB. We cooked there as usual and Brian, bless his Irish soul, was there with bike and trailer, and ready to heat a delicious potato soup alongside our lentil operation. In the end it worked out because I had a meeting to be at and Mark and Brian biked the soup in his trailer, while I went to discuss matters much less interesting...

So HUGE thanks to Brian and Mark for cooking and biking, to Maya for donating money for ingredients, and to Ali for donating a hand blender (carried all the way from Pittsburgh).

The next step is to buy a new bike. sorry yellow, but i need one that works for bob.
love, shelly

trailer envy

Thank yous all around for a great soup cycle this month.

Brian: thanks for making coffee, split pea soup, chopping garlic, bringing containers, bread and spoons, and for cycling around with me! It was a good day.
Scott: thanks for letting me borrow your big fancy pot.
Julia and Ryan: thanks for the cauliflower & use of the hand blender.
Jean: thanks for the beautiful organic broccoli.
Josh: thanks for chopping onions until we were all bleary eyed.
Merle: thanks for bringing containers.
Soccer people: thanks for showing me how the trailer is actually supposed to attach to the bike...

perhaps I shouldn't admit this, but when Brian and I were out cycling around I kept having issues with the bob coming off the spoke spike (?). Finally Brian bunjeed the sucker on and we didn't have any more problems. Turns out I was using the pin in the completely wrong way. Brian's trailer is a two-wheeler with a big vinyl platform to set things on -it seems a good deal sturdier than the bob. I also think my issue was not having a kick stand. When I wanted to stop and hand out soup it was really hard to keep the whole system upright with one hand.

The cool thing was that lots of people are really interested in the trailers. They ask lots of questions and I think perhaps see it as a way to haul their own stuff around. It would be cool if a local bike organization started a bike & trailer lending system to homeless and/or carless people, or really any people...hint, hint Bikery? http://www.thebikery.org/

Speaking of the Bikery, I'm headed over there tomorrow to see if my sweet little yellow bike can be salvaged. I currently have 4 bikes with the recent purchase of a rusty old cruiser (my new market bike that I'm going to fix up) and for someone in transition, thats just two too many bikes.

OK, back to the thesis paper. I would tell y'all about it, but it has nothing to do with soup or bikes. Sadly.

thank you again, everybody, for your love & support of this project.
shelly

let's talk soup

Did you not love that show (talk soup) when it was on a long time ago? I have no idea what happened to it since I left the world of TV ten years ago, but that show was hilarious back in the day.

OK, here's an update on soupcycle for this coming Sunday. So far it is me and Jean cooking soup in the CWB gallery, and joining forces with Zulu Brian who is cooking up his own batch. Julia and Ryan have graciously and unknowingly donated a head of cauliflower and the use of their hand blender while they are out of town. Thanks! The rest of the ingredients will be purchased using the remaining funds donated from my mom...but we could still use someone that is willing to dumpster for bread. We also need more containers. If you have any please drop them off in the CWB galley - there is a bag above the fridge just for this purpose.
Like always we'll start cooking at 10:00, cycle it around at 12:30 or so, and head over to the weekly soccer game around 2. Soupcycle Sundays always feel like perfect Sundays to me.

Alright - this was a very tame posting, but there's not much more to say. I just hope the sun stays with us like the last few days. Oh man, spring is almost here.

shelly

soup cycle invests!

Very exciting developments this evening...

1) mom sends generous check to soup cycle
2) super deal bob trailer found on craigslist
3) guy sells it for cheaper due to great cause
4) soup cycle now has its very own trailer!

...practically brand new, with a beautiful, shiny black coat of paint, and a silver fender.
So now, to talk about when she'll have her first soup-laden bumpy ride through the streets of Seattle.

Date: Sunday February 22nd.
Place: CWB Galley.
Time: 10:00 am to approx 2 pm
RSVP: post comment

What to bring:

• Your bike

• Clean yogurt containers or other med-large sized containers with lids that fit.

• Soup-making ingredients (see recipe below for guidance, but feel free to add something else. I'm thinking of replacing the cheese with milk...maybe?)

• A hand-blender

See you there!
shelly


POTATO BROCCOLI SOUP

• 2 cups chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 1/2 pounds peeled and cubed potatoes
• 5 cups boiling water
• 4 cubes veg bouillon
• 3 cups fresh broccoli, cooked and drained
• salt and pepper to taste
• 3 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large stock pot saute onion in butter. Add potatoes, water and bouillon cubes. Cover, bring to boil and then reduce heat to medium and cook until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.
2. Remove tough outer skin of broccoli stems and cook broccoli. Once cooked add to soup.
3. In a blender or food processor puree half of the soup and return to stock pot. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Add cheese and heat soup through until cheese is melted. Serve warm.

plastic shards, anyone?

There is a tragic story, yet one with a moral of perseverance, in the soup I made last night. After the soup was finished cooking I needed to blend it. I don't have one of those nifty hand blenders, so I scooped the soup into a normal blender. The first batch went well even though hot orange soup splattered all over the stove and fridge. I put it into another pot in order to add the coconut milk later. The second batch in the blender did not go so well. The hot soup made the lid of the blender expand and come loose (thus the splattering) which allowed the small plastic middle piece of the lid to fall in. It was immediately ground up. However, when I pulled it out, they looked like big chunks, so I thought I could just pass this soup through a sieve and into the first batch of blended soup. I did and soon discovered that the plastic was broken into tiny slivers and had gotten into all of the soup. "NO!!" I yelled this, among other things. It was almost two hours later and I had to throw away all of the soup. There was no way I could extract the plastic bits and I would never risk me or anyone else eating them. It was sad rinsing so much time and delicious ingredients down the drain.

So, here is the moral. Don't let a failed soup making attempt get you down - push on! I began again. Although this time, I was not humming or daydreaming as I chopped onion and grated carrots, I was totally focused on making the soup quickly and efficiently. Thus, the second batch turned out to be delicious, but not as spicy as the first and overall with less luster. I truly believe that you can taste the difference in a dish that is made with pleasure and happiness. I am glad I persevered and was able to share the soup with a friend today, but I probably won't make another batch of soup until February's soup cycle.

g'night. shelly

soup's on

This isn't soupcycle, technically, but I am making soup right now. I guess it could be considered testing a potential soupcycle recipe, but we'll see. Its still cooking and smells amazing.
I wanted to try & duplicate Pacific Soup's Cashew Carrot Ginger, which I love.

I found the following recipe, which adds curry too:

http://vegandad.blogspot.com/2007/11/carrot-cashew-curry-coconut-soup.html

INGREDIENTS

- 2 tbsp oil

- 2 onions, diced

- 2 celery stalks, sliced

- 3 cloves of garlic, diced

- 1/4 cup chopped fresh ginger

- 1 tbsp curry powder

- 1 tsp cinnamon

- 1 tsp tumeric

- 1 tsp coriander

- 1/2 tsp cumin

- 1/2 cups raw cashews

- 1 1/2 lbs carrots, grated

- 6 cups vegetable stock

- 1 can coconut milk

- salt and pepper to taste

METHOD:

1. Heat oil in a stockpot and saute onion, celery, garlic and ginger for 15 mins, until onions are golden brown. Add in spices and cashews and cook for another minute.

2. Add carrots and mix thoroughly. Add stock and bring to bubbling. Lower heat, cover, and cook until carrots are soft. Really, the longer you can cook this the better--it lets the flavours develop.

3. Blend with a hand blender until smooth. Stir in coconut milk and heat (but don't boil). Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve.

The only thing is that I am not measuring ingredients, I'm making it extra spicy, and I am using roasted, salted cashews instead of raw. I probably won't add any salt in the end.

If you happen (or are lucky enough) to be around in me in the next couple of days - I'm sure you'll get some too. much love, shelly

the star explosion

OK, the first thing I want to do is give a shout to Ballard Market. Not only are they open 24 hrs, have the most attractive grocery store staff in Seattle, but I was able to buy a huge bag brimming full of organic beautiful vegetables for only $15.00!! This made me happy. The one thing they lacked was the alphabet pasta shapes.

So, next stop, FGMeyer. Less charm and also NO alphabet noodles! What is wrong with consumers today? Are they not demanding ABCs to make every pasta dish extra fun for young and old? In any case, I bought tiny stars instead, bringing my grand total spent to about $18 . I guess the reason I tell this story is because I am really inspired by the shear quantity of food one can make and feed so many people for so little cash.

The cooking was fun, but a little chaotic. There were sailing volunteers and students galore milling around the tiny CWB galley and I felt bad for our soup cycle explosion taking up so much space. And it was literally an explosion. We had three pots brimming way too full of veggies and broth, so it became a respectable mess.

The funny thing about the cycling part was the Peugeot and bob trailer - called the "cadillac" by one of our soup recipients. Before we left Jean had to jerry rig the trailer onto the bike with a tiny piece of wire. Then we soon discovered that the front wheel of the bike was totally bent! It made for an extra adventurous balancing act - but the soup didn't spill one drop the whole time!

So THANK YOU to Kira for helping cook, cleaning up, and donating money, and to Jean-er for biking around and helping to hand out our star explosion. You are each gems of the rare variety.

The very last thing I will write is that I found this cool poem-song written by Lewis Carroll! I like it and recommend reciting it in a funny voice. OK, thats all!

love, shelly

Beautiful Soup by Lewis Carroll

BEAUTIFUL Soup, so rich and green,
Waiting in a hot tureen!
Who for such dainties would not stoop?
Soup of the evening, beautiful Soup!
Soup of the evening, beautiful Soup!

Beau--ootiful Soo-oop!
Beau--ootiful Soo-oop!
Soo--oop of the e--e--evening,
Beautiful, beautiful Soup!

Beautiful Soup! Who cares for fish,
Game, or any other dish?
Who would not give all else for two
Pennyworth only of Beautiful Soup?
Pennyworth only of beautiful Soup?

Beau--ootiful Soo-oop!
Beau--ootiful Soo-oop!
Soo--oop of the e--e--evening,
Beautiful, beauti--FUL SOUP!

carrots, zucchini, onions

Oi! Less than one week until Soup Cycle, Oh Nine! Be there!

I still have zero ingredients for this one. Also, since I haven't really arranged for it to be at anyone's house in particular, I think CWB is the default. I'll start cooking at 10:00.

This is the least organized soup cycle yet, and I wonder if this silly blog is partly at fault. I feel rather disconnected from my previously strong supporters of this project. Hmmm....
Or, it could be that school is like a giant life-eating monster. As a side note, I started drawing the Mac apple logo performing different subversive acts, and I have one where it is a monster eating the city of Seattle. How that relates to soup cycle? I will let you decide.

Ok, so if you are reading this - I need ingredients!!
Check out the recipe - ANYTHING you can donate would be so wonderful.

Lets all do a little dance this week (the Kubb victory dance works) so that the sun stays with us a little longer, at least through Sunday. It does wonders for the soul.

Love to all,
Shelly

peddling goodwill

So, I finally got the bright idea to check the web and see what popped up when I typed in www.soupcycle.com ... you should too. Its a reletively quirky group of people in Portland peddling soup by bike. WOW! What a great idea!!! The only difference is that ours is free and targeted to people in need. Oh, and they use words like soupetarian and souplandistan. Not that there is anything wrong with inventing an entirely new language surrounding one food group.

Even before stumbling upon these other soup cyclers, I thought we might do February's soup cycle in Portland - perhaps even give these guys a call and see if they would be interested in joining forces and giving some of their soup away for free too. What do you think?

Regardless, its about that time to begin planning for the first Seattle soup cycle of 2009.

The date will be Sunday, January 25th. Its right after the opening of the Coffee exhibit at the Burke (which you should all come to, by the way) so I will be living free and easy. I'm not sure where we will cook the soup just yet, probably Heron's house or at CWB again.

We haven't done a noodle soup yet, so below is the recipe I am thinking of. If you have an idea of how to make it better, let me know. AND, in honor of it being alphabet soup, I would love to read some soup cycle inspired haiku.

Here's one to get you going:

by unicycle
i juggle and hand out soup
in a leotard

Alphabet Soup

Recipe By     :
Serving Size  : 16   Preparation Time :0:30
Categories    : Soups

Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
--------  ------------  --------------------------------
  1/4  cup           olive oil
2      medium        boiling potatoes -- peeled and diced
1      cup           carrots -- peeled and diced
  3/4  cup           minced onions
5 1/2  quarts        chicken stock
2      tablespoons   fresh basil -- minced
1      teaspoon      fresh oregano -- minced
3      cups          diced zucchini
3      cups          peeled, seeded, and diced tomatoes
2      cups          fresh peas
1      pound         alphabet pasta

In a large pot over moderate heat, warm olive oil. Add potatoes, carrot,
and onion and saute 5 minutes. Add chicken stock, basil, and
oregano. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to maintain a simmer, and simmer 15 minutes.
Add zucchini and 1 cup of the tomatoes. Simmer 10 minutes. Add pasta, peas, and
remaining 2 cups tomatoes; simmer until pasta is cooked through.
Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately and pass a bowl of Parmesan.
Makes about 16 cups.