Tag: soup

Soup still being served

Vancouver Soup Company’s Steven Sloan with his wife Iona Monk and their daughter, Zoe Sloan. (photo by Michelle Dodek)

Soup is comfort food; great for lunch or dinner; light or hearty and always satisfying. Steven Sloan certainly thinks so. He is the owner and creator of the Vancouver Soup Company, a local wholesale business that he set up in May 2015 to serve a demand he saw in coffee shops.

A veteran of the food industry and an avid cook, Sloan’s first customer was Breka Bakery & Café, a 24-hour coffee shop owned by a Jewish family, the Granots. As Breka expanded – they now have five locations around Vancouver – so did the Vancouver Soup Company.

“I get nice comments from my customers. People like the soups…. I haven’t ever lost a client,” said Sloan.

As he pitched his soups to shops all over the city, taking samples with him everywhere he went, he found that his shared kitchen arrangement could no longer accommodate his needs. He took the leap to finding his own production facility in 2018.

He found a large kitchen at 292 East 1st Ave., three blocks east of Main Street. The facility also had an unused area facing the street that looked perfect for a restaurant, he said. “I thought a retail space would be great to generate extra revenue to help pay for the rent. It also helps to build the brand.”

The location is also great for retail, he added, because it’s near the new Emily Carr University of Art + Design campus and there are many offices in the area.

Sloan’s wife, Iona Monk, who works as a couples therapist, did the majority of the publicity the old-fashioned way when the store opened for lunch in early January.

“Iona went to local businesses and apartment buildings and put up fliers,” explained Sloan. “We offer a discount to Emily Carr students, so many of them started walking over for lunch.”

Serving five kinds of soups daily with fresh bread on the side, Sloan also offers two daily sandwiches (one vegetarian) and a salad as well. There is an assortment of baked goods to round off lunch.

Up until the COVID-19 pandemic hit, business was steadily growing, as more and more people heard about the lunch available at the Vancouver Soup Company. Sloan was preparing to open in the mornings starting at the beginning of April. He was going to have smoothies, a hot breakfast bowl and breakfast sandwich as well as freshly baked goods made in-house. But then, coffee shops were forced to close and he had to close his restaurant as well.

Assisted in the sales part of the business by his 15-year-old daughter, Zoe, who is off school indefinitely, Sloan began reaching out on social media. His contacts included Vancouver Talmud Torah, from which his daughter graduated two years ago. The family set up an online order platform for frozen soup with an option for delivery or pick up at the store.

“The community has been very supportive,” said Monk. “We’re doing OK. This terrible situation has forced Steve to grow the business in a way new direction. It shows the potential of this business and that the demand is there.”

In addition to vegetarian, vegan and meat soups, Sloan produces stews and chilis and in his words, a killer mac ’n’ cheese, now all available frozen to go. In this new paradigm, the family feels fortunate to have been able to find a new retail outlet for their business. However, they are hopeful that coffee shops and restaurants will soon be able to reopen so the business can continue to grow. In the meantime, this family continues to serve up the soup – and the comfort – as best they can.

Michelle Dodek is a freelance writer living in Vancouver. She also is the baker for the Vancouver Soup Company, recently incorporating her own business, called ess Baked Goods.

Scrumptious soup ’n’ cookies

Kermit Soup, ready to serve. (photo by Shelley Civkin)

Treat your friends to one little taste of my Kermit Soup (aka kale-and-potato soup) and I guarantee they’ll be green with envy. Granted, it’s an unholy colour, which could be off-putting to some, but don’t dismiss it out of spoon. Even those who vigorously eschew kale (and aren’t partial to green) will be begging for seconds.

During these seemingly endless, dark days of fall and winter, there’s nothing more comforting than a thick, hearty soup. (Unless of course it’s a healthy serving of 15-year-old Balvenie, but that’s just wasted calories.) To me, soups are the bait-and-switch of mealtimes. If you haven’t been shopping in awhile, and all you’re planning for dinner is tuna sandwiches, then a good, substantial soup can easily step up to the plate and take on the starring role. After all, soup has got so much going for it: it’s filling, scrumptious and everything else pales by comparison. Especially if it’s Kermit Soup (you’ll see what I’m talking about soon enough). Don’t feel you need to apologize for its aberrant tint. I mean, just take a look around at the freakish hair colours you see on the streets. Kermit Soup has absolutely nothing to be embarrassed about. Nor do you.

It does help if you have a really good blender to make this soup. In fact, it’s rather essential. I’ve got a Breville at home and that sucker could crush rocks. (I’m pretty sure my blender has a bigger engine than my car.) Yams? No problem. Acorn squash? A joke. Carrots? In its sleep. Not that my recipe calls for any of those. Just saying. So, without further ado – meet the star of the dinner show.

KERMIT SOUP

2 cloves garlic
3 small/medium Yukon gold potatoes, diced
half a large yellow onion
6 cups baby kale, chopped and lightly packed (the store wouldn’t let me take     it without parental permission, so I used adult kale instead)
4 tbsp unsalted butter
1 quart (4 cups) chicken (or mushroom) broth
Salt and pepper to taste

  1. Mince the garlic.
  2. Peel and chop the onion.
  3. Peel and cube the potatoes.
  4. Rinse kale and drain it well. Remove the thick stems then chop it up.
  5. Melt butter over medium heat in a heavy soup pan.
  6. Add garlic, onion, potatoes, and salt and pepper to taste.
  7. Stir and cook for several minutes over medium heat.
  8. Add the broth and bring it to a boil. Skim off fat from the top.
  9. Gently simmer with the lid on for about 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
  10. Add the kale and cook without the lid for about three to five minutes or until tender.
  11. Transfer the soup to a blender a few cups at a time and puree. You might want to remove the little circle part of the blender lid to let some of the steam escape (but not while the blender is running). As each pureed batch is ready, pour it into another saucepan.
  12. Ready to serve! It’s even better reheated the next day, and it’s good cold, too. If you’re not too hungry, have some bread with it and you’ve got yourself a light, yet filling fall meal. You’re welcome.

So, by now you’ve devoured your Kermit Soup and tuna sandwiches. To great acclaim. The soup, that is. An hour-and-a-half goes by and you’re jonesing for something sweet. Now what? You could get in your car and drive to some overpriced, hipster dessert restaurant that charges $12.95 for a two-inch purple yam, all-vegan crème brulée. Or, you could rock it old school. In the comfort of your own home. With Weetabix Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Yes, Virginia, Weetabix is more than just a breakfast cereal. Plus, it adds a nice crunchy texture to your cookies that you won’t soon forget (unless you overdo it with that 15-year-old Balvenie I referenced earlier. But that’s on you, not me). I always keep a box of Weetabix around, just in case of a cookie emergency. Which seems to happen with increasing frequency. And there are always chocolate chips hidden in my freezer (as if I don’t know where they are). So, go ahead, don your apron, pretend you’re Suzie Homemaker or Donna Reed and bake your family some irresistible cookies.

WEETABIX CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

4 Weetabix, crushed
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup soft butter or margarine
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated white sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

  1. Mix together crushed Weetabix, flour, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, using a hand mixer, cream together butter/margarine and sugars. Beat in vanilla and egg.
  3. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Stir in chocolate chips.
  4. Drop dough by tablespoonsful onto an ungreased baking sheet (or line with parchment paper).
  5. Bake at 350°F for 12 minutes (or slightly longer for a crispier cookie).
  6. Eat and repeat. Or eat ’em and weep. I’ll leave that to your discretion. These are so popular that you might want to make two batches at once. Just to be on the safe side. One batch never lasts more than half a day in my home, and there are only two of us. Again, you’re welcome.

These aren’t exactly balabatish recipes. More like nouveau accidental balabusta. But I do stand behind them. You see, I’m channeling my inner balabusta while I make them, and that’s good enough for me. I’ll leave the rugelach, kichele and komish broit to some other ambitious balabusta. On some other day. It just goes to show that food doesn’t need some fancy Yiddish name to taste geshmak. One bite of these Weetabix cookies and one spoonful of this Kermit Soup and you’ll be kvelling all over the place. Just clean up after all that kvelling, OK? Bottom line: it’s all about the heart and soul of the cook.

So, stop kvetching and get thee into the kitchen. Those cookies and soup aren’t going to make themselves. Just promise me one thing – you won’t ask for a refund if you don’t love the Kermit Soup.

Shelley Civkin, aka the Accidental Balabusta, is a happily retired librarian and communications officer. For 17 years, she wrote a weekly book review column for the Richmond Review. She’s currently a freelance writer and volunteer.