Josephine’s First Soup and the Great Habanero Harman Shortage
Jeff
6/23/20263 min read
Jeeze, for all of our loyal readers who follow this thing way too closely, you're probably expecting a Yavello soup today. Maybe you're thinking the break is over. Maybe you've been counting down the days…Nope.
With Andy still officially "on break," I would normally be next in the lineup. But nope again. Newbie Josephine wanted to jump into the rotation, so away we go with her first-ever Soup Club build! The fact that she didn't immediately push her soup to the end of the schedule tells us everything we need to know. She's Soup Club material.
So now we're all wondering what exactly we're about to get. I'm pretty sure Josephine has never made soup before. Heck, I don't even know if she's made anything before. What I do know is that she's really, really good at eating soup. Today, we find out if she can make it.
But before we get into the soup weeds, we have a minor housekeeping item...We are running dangerously low on Habanero Harman's hot sauce. And when I say dangerously low, I mean we've officially entered desperation mode. We're now putting hot water into nearly empty bottles, swishing it around, and dumping the spicy remnants into our bowls like a bunch of sauce addicts. Last we heard, Harman was becoming a dad, then was going to attend a meeting and bring more sauce. Well, the honeymoon period of first-time fatherhood is officially over, buddy. We need sauce. The people demand it.
On more quick item. We brought in Hunter – everyone likes him and figured he needs to get his foot in the door. His new role was to be out “stirrer boy” and could mix the soup people bring in. At first, he was all in and wanted to be called “Robert” (pronounced Rho-bear). When it came down to the video and photo session, he got cold feet. Maybe next week man!
Back to Josephine...Much like Adam before her, she ventured out over the weekend and acquired an immersion blender. The Samurai sword of any serious soup maker. She found a recipe that appears to check all the Soup Club boxes, which immediately raises a bunch of important questions…
Will she bring enough soup? Does she understand the difference between a topper and a Bottomer™? Will there be a side? Will Tam quietly bring additional food without Josephine knowing? Will the soup even be edible? So many questions. So many unknowns. This is exactly what makes Soup Club great.
Speaking of unknowns, apparently Josephine's brand-new "Samurai sword" was discovered to be defective and wouldn't work. Poor girl had to call an audible right out of the gate. No time for a Meijer exchange, so no blending this week!
I will say this, though: the smells drifting through the office all morning have been fantastic, which is usually a very good sign. But what will the Soup Clubbers think?
Soup Club Scores:
Kevin: Started at a 7.8, then bumped it to an 8.3 with hot sauce and salt. His official critique? "Yuck kale!" Apparently the chicken Bottomer™ saved the day.
Conlan: Liked the texture and came in at a 7.0. Not bad at all for a rookie soup. In Conlan terms, that's basically a standing ovation.
Jeff: So delicious. So good. I landed at an 8.75. This thing probably cracks into the 9s if the immersion blender had cooperated.
Tam: Absolutely loved the chickpeas and dropped a very respectable 9.5.
Marketing Mike: Wanted a little more lemon and seasoning. Started at a 7.25, then bumped it to a 7.75 after adding lemon salt. Mike continues to prove that no soup score is ever truly final.
Adam: Came in with a 7.5 and, when asked for additional commentary, simply said, "That's all I got." Fair enough.
Nathan: Appreciated the acidity, thought the chicken was tender and flavorful, and liked the texture from the chickpeas. He felt it could have used a little more salt and that the broth was a bit thin for his liking. He also gave props to the bread, calling it the perfect size and a nice touch. Final score: 8.5.
Andy: Still on break.
Soup Club Average: 8.32
Another perfectly imperfect meeting. We've only got two meetings left before we head into the heart of summer. Next week, Nathan makes his Soup Club debut. With his deep culinary background, and now that we know he's apparently been feeding Conlan recipes all along, expectations are sky high. Nothing short of soup perfection will do. That's a lot of pressure for a rookie, but, Nathan kind of brought it on himself.
After Nathan, it's yours truly. And as usual, I'll be taking some risks. Sooner or later I'm bound to make a dud…Right?
