Eatdrink #39 January/February 2013

62 www.eatdrink.ca
№ 39 | January/February 2013
cookbooks
The Soup Sisters Cookbook
100 Simple Recipes to Warm Hearts ... One Bowl at a Time
Edited by Sharon Hapton, with Pierre A. Lamielle
Review and Recipe Selections by Jennifer Gagel
There is nothing more warming than
a bowl of soup on a cold winter day,
unless it’s the Soup Sisters in action.
Started in Calgary by Sharon
Hapton in 2009, Soup Sisters is an
organization that, along with Broth
Brothers, provides comforting bowls of
homemade soup to women’s shelters and
youth groups across Canada.
“A lot of the time the women that come
through our doors are under tremendous
stress,” says Colleen Kelly of Women’s
Community House, as the Soup Sisters in
London come together one chilly October
night. “Sometimes they can barely even
eat, and that’s where the bowls of soup
make a huge difference. It may seem to a
lot of people it’s a small thing, but really it’s
not. A comforting bowl of soup, something
easy to digest but still with the nutritional
value that they need, gives women in crisis
that little bit of energy to make some of the
difficult decisions facing them.”
And so once a month a team of 15 to
25 women come together in the London
Training Centre’s spacious, professional
kitchen to stir up some comfort for those in
need, and to have some fun while doing it.
The evening ends with a simple sit-down
dinner of soup, bread and wine.
Suki Kaur-Cosier of Cooking Matters in
Covent Garden Market leads the group in
making three soups, one vegetarian, one
with meat and one dairy-free. Suki is the
perfect chef facilitator for these events; she’s
a fantastic chef, an inspiring teacher, and
she started a women’s shelter back in her
native Britain before moving to Canada.
Her bright personality and positive can-do
attitude contribute to a wonderful event.
The Soup Sisters Cookbook is a collection
of the best tried-and-true recipes the Soup
Sisters have to offer. Canadian culinary
greats such as
Bonnie Stern, Elizabeth
Baird, Lucy
Waverman and
Christine Cushing
all have recipes
in the book,
along with a bevy
of Soup Sisters from across the country.
Word of the Soup Sisters great work has
also spread south of the 49th parallel. Heidi
Swanson of 101cookbooks.com contributed
the recipe for Winter Vegetable and Tofu
Korma. Laden with protein, this delectably
spiced soup has just the right amount of heat
to warm a cold winter’s night. Let guests
dollop in their own yogurt cream topping to
taste, rather than adding it to the soup before
serving — preferably with naan bread.
Anna Olson’s recipe for Hungarian Beef
Goulash with bacon and authentic csipetke
(chip-ET-keh), little flour dumplings,
is hearty and comforting, and smells
fantastic wafting through the kitchen
as it simmers. If making csipetke seems
daunting, egg noodles will do in a pinch.
The collection of recipes is simple but
varied, reflecting the myriad of Canadian
tastes. The book has a section containing
Essential Equipment and Soup-Making
Techniques, so you won’t need Suki and her
professional kitchen to help you replicate
these delicious recipes. The full-page photos
are so gorgeous you can practically smell
the aroma coming right off the page.
Whether to family and friends or those in
need, serve up a bowl of comfort from the
Soup Sisters.
Jennifer Gagel works as a research assistant at London
Public Library, and as a business analyst for Cunningham
MacGregor & Associates. Contact jennagagel@gmail.com.