Bonus Blog: The Boo-tternut & Black Bean Halloween Special

Tis the week of November 3rd, and I regret to inform our loyal Soup Club followers that we have no official meeting this week. Andy is off doing some Green Industry thing off site, and Kevin and I are headed to Chicago for the annual ACA Fall Forum. It is basically a gathering of collection agency geeks trying to figure out how to compliantly collect more money while spending less. Sounds thrilling, right?

But soup fans have nothing to fear, because I still brought in a special treat today. It is non-Soup Club sponsored, which means Barry can have some without too much fuss.

Saturday was a first for me. My first ever costume party. I have always avoided them. Having adults dress up in weird outfits and mingle has never made much sense to me. Back when I drank, maybe it did. Booze makes a lot of things make sense that really should not.

Anyway, Salmon Surgeon Jenn invited me to her friend’s annual Halloween party in Norton Shores. I was a bit skeptical but figured we could make some soup while I juggled UWGB school work. We landed on a WFPB pumpkin, squash, and black bean creation. The goal was a soup that felt like Halloween with some black and orange colors, a hint of pumpkin spice, a bit of heat, and some protein from the beans.

Friday I prepped all the cuttable stuff, then hit the road westbound Saturday morning. Jenn roasted the pumpkin, garlic, and butternut squash while I was driving, and when I arrived, we put together two big pots of soup. Why two pots, you ask? Jenn didn’t have one large enough for the batch (nor would most!), and we wanted to experiment. One pot had pumpkin spice and one did not.

First round of taste testing was one medium bowl of each. The no-pumpkin spice version was excellent, a solid 8.5 on the Soup Club scale. The pumpkin spice version smelled great but needed something. We added cumin and cayenne, and it was instantly better. The next day, after the flavors had blended together, both soups were incredible. Easily some of the best I have been involved with. We did not bring soup to the Halloween party, but funny enough, there was already a crock pot of soup there. Theirs was almost the same as ours, even down to the coconut milk finish. The difference was that theirs was a BS, blended soup, and as expected, missing the chunks. Justy would have approved.

Today, I brought a big sample of this WFPB Boo-tternut & Black Bean Soup into the office. Which version? Both, mixed together into one perfect pot. The recipe on the Partner’s page reflects that mix, which is the only way I would make it. No official Soup Club this week, but this masterpiece definitely filled the void.

Kevin had his bowl early. I think he secretly likes the bonus soups better than official Soup Club meetings because he can eat when he wants. He came in strong with a two-bite 9.0, then bumped it to 9.5, citing “perfect spice level,” and teased a possible 10.0 if it had heavy cream. No thanks, Kevin. We're keeping it plant-based.

THE Barry (pretty sure he asked me to use “THE”) tried to dodge the taste test, but I managed to get him a scoop. As much as he pretends to dodge Soup Club, I think he secretly enjoys being part of it in some fashion. We all appreciate his expert feedback, even if it is usually minimal. Barry’s rank was, well, he doesn’t rank. I did get out of him that it was south of a 9.0. When I said, “somewhere between an 8.0 and 9.0,” I got no comment, so that’s what I’m going with. Barry’s official score: 8.5.

Tam sent a nice Teams message saying, “Jeff, really good soup. I give you a 9.8. Thank you.” I’ll take that all day.

Meka said, “My mouth is on fire. You gotta warn people!” but still gave it a 7.6, which I respect. Conlan came in with a thoughtful 8.0, saying it “would have been bumped up with a little less cayenne.” Adam hit me with a respectful 8.2, adding, “I really enjoyed it. Nothing wrong with an 8.2.” Agreed, Adam. Chris seemed excited to give an 8.5, saying, “It was delicious, a steady burn, the kind of burn I like.” Felton said, “It’s a solid 7.5 to 8.0. It’s got good spice, but I’d like a little bit more.” I took the 8.0. Then, a few bites later, he came back with, “Jeff, 8.0. Now that I’ve had a few bites, I can taste the spice more!” Too late, already logged it. Then, after his post-soup smoke break, he came back again and upgraded to an 8.5. Adjustment made. Ashley gave it some deep thought before landing on an 8.0. She mentioned something about a 10.0 in passing, but I’ll stick with the 8.0 for the record.

So, here’s the final tally: 9.5 + 8.5 + 9.8 + 7.6 + 8.0 + 8.2 + 8.5 + 8.5 + 8.0 = 8.51 average. I’ll take that score any day.

My takeaway today is that when adding spice to soup, it’s just like the thermostat in our office of 50 people. Too hot, too cold, or just right…it all depends on who you ask. The perfect spice level is somewhere between Tam’s 9.8 and Meka’s “mouth on fire.”

I had a bowl myself today, and it was even better than yesterday. I am not scoring it officially, but if I did, I might break the system. This WFPB Boo-tternut & Black Bean Soup turned out to be the perfect bridge between fall flavors and the return to clean eating. No official Soup Club this week, but this one definitely filled the gap. Next Tuesday, we are back to the regular Soup Club schedule.