Soup (and bingo) report

I was on duty last Wednesday at the Hideout, checking my Facebook feed and dusting off the Scrabble board to bust out a game with my one regular, when a young woman charged into the bar. Face full of expectation, she stopped short just inside the door, and surveyed the empty room. “Is the soup thing happening tonight?” she asked, with a grimace that said she was just then figuring out the answer.

I broke it to her gently. Soup season is over for now — but we’ll be back next winter! And,  in the meantime, Veggie Bingo starts up again in June.

“Oh …. OK,” she said, backing away, shaking her head. “Bingo, huh?”

I felt bad!

So to her, and to anyone else wondering where the soup went, I’m still catching up on recipes, and will be posting them over the next month, including a trove of terrific bread recipes courtesy of Soup and Bread associate the Lone Baker, Rae Hill. Just as soon as I can sit down with Rae and translate the bakers’ measurements into teaspoons and cups for normal people.

And, yes, there will be bingo. Tentative start date: June 18 16. More details to come, just as soon as we hammer them out.

I’m working on a few soup-related projects for the summer, as well, though those remain, for now, on the DL. This weekend, though, I’m cooking up a pot of soup for the Great Collaboration, a benefit for the Fire This Time fund. Fire This Time is a “creative justice giving circle” that raises money to support artists, activists, and educators working for social change.

Or, in their words:

• We prioritize the channeling of project-based funds to informal groups working in atypical ways, inside and outside of the non-profit model, without access or ties to extensive institutional support.
• We encourage innovative, experimental and radical ideas and models of action.
• We support creative cultural as well as creative, community organizing and education projects that provoke critical thought by raising awareness or dialogue around justice issues.

All of which we at Soup and Bread can get behind. Come check it out! I’ll be serving soup from 5 till the crock runs dry. Not sure what’s on the menu yet, though — I’m open to suggestions.

Don’t feel like leaving the house? Watch this space for more recipes, more from the soup beat, and breaking news on the imminent return of Veggie Bingo. Irv and Shelly are back on board as sponsors and I’m starting to line up callers this week.

Summer is here. Feel it.