Soup for Thought

Photograph by Ken Kochey

I have started making a list of things I want to do when I retire.
OK. Well... not really on paper. In my head, rather. But really, every now and then I find out about wonderful ideas that people come up with, projects of self-less help, community initiatives etc. There are so many great things that one can do, events to get involved with, that I think that one needs to be really lazy to find themselves being bored.

Soup Sisters is one of those things I would love to get involved with. Launched in Calgary, Soup Sisters spread itself to Toronto. The basic goal is to get together and cook a bowl of soup for those who are in need. After all, soups is a comfort food. No?

It works like this. You get a group of 'sisters' who want to have a good time, cook together and chat. You need at least 12 of them. You set a date and pay $45 for each person. You come and start cooking with ingredients provided for you. There is always a chef and kitchen staff who make sure that everything is up to par and that you don't cut your fingers off. (Having said that, you don't need to be a chef yourself, in fact you may not know what a knife is, they will help you out.) As the soup is cooking, you get a bowl of another soup, that was prepared for you in advance, and a glass of wine to enjoy. Pretty dandy, eh? The soup that your group made will be taken to Interval House, a women' shelter, where the soup will be frozen in single portions for later use as the need arises. So everything is great! You get to spend some time with your friends, cook together ( I mean think about it... who has a kitchen big enough to fit 12 women cooking all at once?), eat together and drink wine, and at the end, your soup will lift not only your soul, but also the souls of those in need.

If you are a guy, don't fret. Broth Brother is coming soon to Toronto. For more information visit http://www.soupsisters.org/web/index.php

Cooking for others is a lot of fun for me. Especially when they least expect it. When I was little my mom would often disappear in the kitchen when we were watching TV as a family, and after a while she would come back with crepes or fritters or pancakes. Or she would bring a bowl of apples, sit in front of TV and she would peel them, cut them into pieces and pass them around. These were good times.

So, speaking of cooking and giving, I stumbled upon an issue of Good News Toronto (http://www.goodnewstoronto.ca/index.html). Have you ever heard about this newspaper? I haven't. It is exactly something I was going to start one day. But people are brilliant and steal my ideas before I even think of them. This paper features only good news, you would have never guessed, would you? In the latest issue, I found a list of things you can do to make one's day. I modified them a little:
* Put a note in your loved one's lunchbox to say how special he/she is
* Bake muffins for your work colleagues or school friends
* Praise your mother’s/husband’s/wife’s/child’s cooking
* Eat supper with your family every day
* Help carry shopping for someone who is also carrying a baby
* Take your neighbour grocery shopping weekly
* Say “Thank you for making supper” every day
* Bake cookies for a teacher/neighbour just because
* Leave a generous tip for your food server
* Leave a note of appreciation for your food server
* Bake goodies and take them to your local fire station/police station/ambulance
station

I think that these things create communities, and the feeling of being included, noticed and valued. Do at least one of those good deeds and it will make your day, too.