No Soup Club, No Problem

Ugh. What are we supposed to do with no official Soup Club for fourteen more days? Sit quietly? Be productive? Absolutely not. The answer is obvious. Make more soup.

Saturday night I had a holiday party at some close friends’ place from Milford High School. Same crew every year, same vibe – some cool dudes. Heavy on the animal-eating energy. Dead critters everywhere. On the walls, in the freezer, probably judging us like we judge soup? Toss in a healthy dose of 1980s varsity jackets, which somehow still fit, and you get the picture. Bringing a WFPB soup into that environment would have likely yielded a lot of leftovers.

So I went safe and made the Riveting Salmon Cioppino. Pretty much to spec, except I tossed in a bag of okra because Rob leans hard into the okra lifestyle. I almost left out the Old Bay - have a huge can of it in Ludington and none at home - didn't really want to buy more, but it happened! The soup was a hit. My prediction was that it would be gone by 11:30pm in a drunken feeding frenzy. I was only off by an hour. The mad dash started around 10:30pm, with plenty of loud compliments before and after peak buzz.

Sunday rolled around and I was left staring at some lonely carrots, parsnips, and potatoes. The classic post-party question. What the heck do I do with this stuff? I opened the cupboard and found an old bag of fifteen-bean soup mix. You know the one...it’s been sitting there forever wondering if it will get eaten or tossed. I figured why not throw it all in a pot and see what happens.

Turns out the little flavor packet that comes with the beans was surprisingly smoky. That got the wheels turning. Add smoked paprika. Add a little hickory liquid smoke. The flavor profile was officially unlocked. I also found some banana peppers left over from taco night, so those went in too. Toss in a few more things listed on the Partner’s Page and suddenly we had another WFPB beauty on our hands.

Naturally, I brought some into work to share with Soup Club members and the Campbell’s Crew:

• Kevin took one tiny taste and immediately said, “8.0 to 8.2, but I haven’t added hot sauce yet.” Thirty seconds later, after hot sauce was applied, “8.9 final.” Efficient judging.

• I thought it was good, probably an 8.0. Then I added Melinda’s Fire Roasted Garlic and Habanero sauce, nutritional yeast, and pumpkin seeds. I am now fully aligned with Kevin’s 8.9.

• Hunter is always entertaining. Every soup is usually “the best one yet.” Not this time. His official review went like this: “It was really really good, and it got better as I was eating it. A solid 8.5. Probably my least favorite soup so far, but still dang good.” So apparently “best yet” equals 9.5, and “really really good, dang good” equals 8.5. Honestly, that tracks.

• Adam started at an 8.5, then quickly corrected himself to an 8.6, saying, “It was really good soup. Better than an 8.5.” See Hunter. Math matters.

• Conlan said, “I’ll give it an 8.0.” I said, “Hah?” He repeated, “Eight.” Apparently, it did not improve as he ate it. Or maybe it did and he started at a 6.0. Hard to say.

• Felton stood up from across the office, called my name, and when I looked up, he was nodding aggressively with a huge smile. Thumbs up. “A solid 9.0. I really like this one.” That is a strong Felton moment and we will take it.

Final score of the year:
8.9 + 8.9 + 8.5 + 8.6 + 8.0 + 9.0 = 8.65.

For me, this was the last soup I will be partaking in at APR for 2025. I am heading west to Ludington later this week to witness a ball drop, run a 5K, and probably make some soup for the Ludington people. I am thinking something involving Charlie Daniels’ sauerkraut. Because…obviously…