It has come to my attention that I am a giant, bullying soup snob. A sort of reverse Soup Nazi who, when offered anything of a brothy sort, circles it suspiciously and, after a few tentative sniffs, wrinkles her nose and announces with defiance, “NO SOUP FOR ME!”
One of my biggest successes as a parent, in my mind, has been getting the kids to eat soup. Not just any soup, but homemade soup. Clam chowder. Hungarian bean soup. Portuguese kale soup. Mussel and chorizo soup. Chicken noodle soup. Stone soup. It wasn’t easy but they finally like it now, I think to myself with more than a little self-satisfaction. Mom is on the scoreboard, at last.
But then I found out, to my horror, that Husband had recently indoctrinated the children into the school of Campbell’s Chicken & Stars. WHAT? I make soup practically every week! What’s with the Campbell’s? How am I supposed to compete with stars?
I think I might be breaking some kind of law by trash-talking Campbell’s, with its substantial history and iconic pop art imagery. And, to be fair, I don’t think I’ve tasted their soup in 20 years, so maybe I’m dead wrong. But my fierce recollection is that their soup is gross. I do believe that soup is good food, just not Campbell’s. Homemade soup is way better. And I’ll let you in on a little secret: I’m not even a very good cook at all.
I am going somewhere with this. The other day, I popped into Whole Foods for a few things and there was a Soup Lady giving out samples. As soon as she opened her mouth, I swerved widely around her, but the kids, who were trailing behind, made a beeline straight for the steaming pots.
Me: Kids, get away from there!
Them: We want soup.
Me: I don’t think so.
Them: But, Mommy, I thought soup was good for us. I thought you said it makes us grow?
God, I hate when they use my own words against me. I eyed the soup display distrustfully.
Soup Lady: It’s locally made…
Me: What? Well, why didn’t you say so?
I gave the Soup Lady the go-ahead, and she ladled out two small cups of chicken noodle soup. Which the kids devoured, steam and all. Then they asked for seconds. I didn’t think anything of it. I mean, clearly my kids have no taste if they like Campbell’s. But then curiosity got the better of me and I stole a spoonful. It was ridiculously good.
Her: We make our own stocks.
Me: Damned right you do.
Her: We used to make soup for restaurants.
Me: I believe you. What else?
Her: They’re gluten-free.
Me: The noodles, too?
Her: They're rice noodles.
Me: Well, hot damn. My mom will be very glad to hear this.
You know I only endorse the finest of local products on this blog, so here’s the buying info. The brand is Kettle Cuisine and they’re out of Chelsea. They have a bunch of different kinds of soup, which are located in the freezer section. Whole Foods, Shaw’s, and Hannaford carry them, maybe some other places, too. A single serving will run you just under $4. Obviously, making a big pot of soup yourself is way cheaper. So is Campbell’s (dry heaves). But if you’re not going to make your own soup, instead you’re going to buy something on your lunch hour somewhere in the $6-$10 range, then this is way cheaper. And when I say it’s just as good as homemade, I very begrudgingly mean it.
You are completely ahead of me in getting your kids to love homemade soup. I've got two Campbell's lovers, and I'm on your side there. I just blogged about my son's reaction to an amazing broccoli soup and homemade cheesse cracker dinner I made two days ago. He actually gagged! How'd you do it?? How'd you get your kids to love homemade??
Posted by: Michelle | January 08, 2009 at 06:53 AM
I have loved soup from a very young age. I think it stays with you. Yes, my parents started me off with Campbells (tomato, with a grilled cheese sammitch on the side to dip in it) but I progressed to Tabachnik 'cause they have matzoh ball soup. Now I turn leftovers into soup most chances I get. Cream soups, green soups, spicy soups, coconut milk soups, chowders... Kids learn to love the food their parents cook -- as long as their parents encourage them to try stuff.
Just keep feeding those kids soup, they'll be 8 feet tall and rocket scientists!
Posted by: NurseJen | January 08, 2009 at 07:27 AM
We're having a Soup Swap and you HAVE TO be a part of it (pleezpleezpleez). We're hopefully holding it a bar that has live bluegrass music and good beer on tap. There are big plans for French Onion, Oxtail and Wedding soup already. Please?!?! http://homegrownorg.ning.com/group/soupswap2009
Posted by: Cornelia | January 08, 2009 at 10:41 AM
Kettle Cuisine is great. 'nough said.
Posted by: pyewacket | January 08, 2009 at 11:24 AM
Campbell's is disgusting, and not even fit for saucing a casserole. Also, I support your contempt for sample ladies, even if she won that round. Homemade is the way to go.
Posted by: Heather | January 08, 2009 at 11:28 AM
Oh - my kids (ages 5 and 9) JUST asked me to buy chicken and stars last weekend - I have no idea how they even know it exists! The older one who eats almost anything, loves soup - the younger one wouldn't even eat soup if it was Chocolate Soup - he is against soup on principal!
Posted by: monica | January 08, 2009 at 02:17 PM
I freakin love soup. Like mad. I'm glad you got your boys to like it - it's been a bit of an effort for me with Steve and he's 33. Heh.
I will make note of the brand and look for it next time I go to WF. I haven't bought canned soups in a very long time, for the same reasons you don't I'm sure, so I will trust you on this one.
And you are so a good cook! Why? Because I said so, young lady!
Posted by: Melissa | January 08, 2009 at 10:32 PM
Melissa: Apparently I have succeeded in fooling you all!
monica: I know what you mean. My oldest was staunchly anti-soup for 5 out of his 6 years. I don't know what happened to change his mind, but I do still plan on taking credit for it.
Heather: Wow, soup snob AND casserole snob. Impressive!
pyewacket: Figures you already knew about them.
Cornelia: Soup swap? Interesting idea. I usually try to be as antisocial as possible, but I just might have to break policy for this...
NurseJen: But if they become taller than me and smarter than me, then how will I rule this household with an iron fist? Perhaps I was wrong about soup after all. No more soup!
Michelle: Here's my secret: 1) Repetition; 2) Eliminate the competition. I kept giving them soup, pretending I didn't care about whether they ate it or not, and eventually they came around on their own. It took forever, but I guess they figured that was all they were ever going to get. Now, with Campbell's in the picture, who knows. I'll keep you posted.
Posted by: Tammy | January 09, 2009 at 10:14 AM
Ha! I'm not a very good cook either, but soups are stupidly easy (at least, some of them...).
Posted by: Pam | January 09, 2009 at 10:51 AM
I have one kid who likes soup and one kid who only eats bread and runs screaming at the sight of soup. Do you think that it would work if I start calling soup "bread"?
And if it's illegal to trash talk Campbell's, I'll gladly go to jail with you for that one! (But then what would my kids eat? Campbell's?)
Posted by: Alana | January 10, 2009 at 08:51 AM