Soup Swap Long Beach is hosting a swap on January 22nd at Bella Cosa on Atlantic Avenue at Bixby Road!
Party begins at 5:00pm, deliver your soup, grab a glass of vino, take a number….swap!
Here are some details from the founders of National Soup Swap Day:
Planning Soup Swap
1. Schedule you Soup Swap to give everyone at least two full weekends to make soup.
While weekends make fun parties and are most ideal for large groups, keep in mind that weeknights make a very casual time for smaller groups to swap without the investment of a longer evening.
2. Invite everyone you know, and ask them to invite everyone they know.
You can swap with any number of people, but it more fun with at least six.
3. Ask people to bring FOUR QUARTS of frozen soup.
Here’s some common objects that come in quarts: big canning jars, yogurt containers and you can buy plastic tubs, usually sold in packs of 4.
We’ve found that four quarts is the biggest pot most folks have. Recipes often need doubled. People often show up with two kinds of soup because their recipe didn’t make enough. The real requirement is that everyone have the same amount of soup in same size containers.
4. Send a reminder on Friday before Soup Swap.
It’s great time to start dropping hints on all the wonderful soup you’ve been hearing about as there’s nothing wrong with a little competitiveness!
5. Doing good.
With a freezer about to be filled with homemade soup, it’s a great time to ask people to pick a few cans out of their pantry to donate to the local food bank.
At the Soup Swap
1. Relax and drink some wine as folks arrive…you’re about to host the easiest party you’ve ever had.
2. Put soup in an easy to admire and talk about location.
3. Draw numbers to begin swap
Put a number in a bowl for every person who brought soup. Have people draw a number: this is the order that the soups will be chosen
4. “The Telling of Soup”
In the order of numbers drawn, have each chef talk about what makes their soup special. Is it organic? It is spicy? Does it have anything someone might not be able to eat? Is it a treasured family recipe?
As the host, you might want to go first to make your guests feel comfortable and to set the tone. Unsure what it’s like: here’s a video from Seattle’s 2010 National Soup Swap and here’s a great example to read.
5. Begin Picking the Soup
In draw order, have each person pick a soup… 1, 2, 3 until everyone has picked their first soup…and then again 1, 2, 3 — until you’ve gone around the room six times.
Everyone should now have a wonderful mix of soup in the same amount of soup they came with!