Soup-er Bowl Sunday

It’s finally here, the holiday we’ve been waiting for all year: Soup-er Bowl Sunday!

Patriots and Rams aside, this soupy celebration is the real party during the cold, wintry months.

A great soup recipe makes the most out of basic ingredients like beans, lentils and fresh or frozen vegetables. Throw in a few spices in your pantry, and you have a wallet-friendly main dish that’s healthier than the ones from the can. Keep reading for creative recipes to ‘bowl’ you over! 

"Souper” selections

• A Southerner will tell you “Pot Likker Soup” isn't a misspelling but a delicious ham and greens soup. Try this recipe and more favorites in Nancie McDermott’s Southern Soups & Stews. 
• Chili just tastes better when it’s cooked in a cast iron pot. Try the recipe from The Best of Lodge cookbook by the makers of the beloved cast iron cookware. 
• Use your high-speed blender for more than just smoothies with soup recipes from Vanessa Simkins’ Power Blender Revolution. 
• The Hungarian “Night Owl” Soup featured in An Exaltation of Soups is great for hangovers (we hear) or any other ailments!
• Soup swaps are the new cookie swap!  Kathy Gunst’s Soup Swap is full of recipes like Sopa de Lima and Chorizo and Clam Stew to exchange with your neighbors and friends. 
• Keep with your new year’s resolutions by incorporating recipes from the American Heart Association’s Healthy Slow Cooker Cookbook or EatingWell Soups. 
• Try the coconut pumpkin curry soup from the latest issue of Rachel Ray Every Day. Read this and all your favorite magazines for free with your Library card on RBDigital!
• Mystery lovers, stir up trouble with Connie Archer’s cozy mysteries A Broth of Betrayal, A Clue In The Stew and Ladle To The Grave.

A ladle full of learning

There’s more to a good soup recipe than dumping ingredients in a pot and hoping for the best. Improve your cooking skills with these resources: 

• Get a free private chef lesson with step-by-step cooking instructions on Films on Demand.
• Through Universal Class, learn to make gazpacho in Spanish Cooking 101 or hearty Italian one-pot soup meals in Italian Cooking 101—all free with your Library card!

For younger readers

• Follow along with the video of the children’s classic Stone Soup in American Sign Language. If you want to learn more about signing, take our free sign language class at the Matthews Library, beginning Feb. 6, 2019. 
• Rescue Max the Duck in the children’s favorite Duck Soup. Adults can check out the Marx Brothers’ classic DVD, as well.
• Teach the entire family new languages with a bilingual picture book like Dādī Mām̐ Kā Śanivāra Kā Sūpa or La Soupe Du Samedi De Grand-mére, Hindi and French versions of Grandma’s Saturday Soup.   
• Our children’s librarians put together this list of their favorite books about soup. 
• Homeschool families can attend the rally at ImaginOn: The Joe and Joan Martin Center on March 6, 2019.  Listen to the classic Stone Soup and explore STEAM activities. 

Whether you’re making a touchdown-worthy steaming bowl of soup or reading the classic Stone Soup with your children, happy Soup-er Bowl Sunday from your friends at Charlotte Mecklenburg Library!

P.S. Remember to stay tuned for Community Read in March and check your local library calendars for events in your neighborhood.