This time of year, many of you will be participating in an annual cookie swap where in exchange for your own lovingly prepared treats you will take home dozens of others to sample.  But why not keep up the tradition of swapping dishes beyond the Holiday season with a little post-holiday, winter soup swap?

I first heard about the soup swap earlier this year when I read about it on writer Tara Weaver’s blog Tea & Cookies. The idea is quite simple, you gather up a group of friends (the more friends, the more soup) and each one of you prepares a different pot of soup at home, packs it into separate one quart containers (one quart of soup per person, so if there are going to be six people, that’s six quarts) and meet at the designated home to do the exchange.  Make sure you also attach a copy of the recipe to each container so the other guests will know how to recreate it. 

The gathering doesn’t have to be formal, a few snacks and drinks while everyone shares stories about the origin of the soup they’ve made and at the end of the night you go home with just as many containers that you came with, but the ones you return with are filled with new flavors to try.  

What makes this whole thing frugal you may wonder? It's not about the gathering itself, although it is a brilliant way to get together and do something a little different other than your standard cocktail or dinner party. It's the soup itself that is the ultimate in frugal cooking. 

Soup can be made out of a little of nothing.  Water or stock, onions, garlic, herbs, with seasonal vegetables is the most basic and economical way. Building on that with the addition of a few inexpensive items like canned beans, lentils, rice, pasta, tomatoes, poultry, and fish takes your soup from basic to bodacious.  During the colder months soup sustains you in a way that no other food can. I love a soup that’s a little more on the hearty side, but sometimes I crave the refinement of a good smooth puree, something with a dollop of yogurt or a swirl of heavy cream to finish it off. 

One way to really up the frugal quotient is by making soups that freeze well, if you play your cards right you could end up with enough soup for lunch or dinner everyday for a month.  If you don’t want to take my word for it then try this little experiment.  Substitute two more traditional dinners in a week with a main course of soup using seasonal and pantry food items and see how much money you save.  At first it might not seem like much, but over time it adds up.  And then when you’re done with that, get together with some friends and host your very own soup swap.   

Who knew being frugal could be this much fun!

Listed below are some of my favorite pocket pleasing soup recipes:

Acorn Squash Bisque - Remember, for most soups if you don’t have stock or broth water works just as well, you just may have to season the soup a bit more.

Acorn Squash Bisque (Everyday Food, November, 2007) Ingredients: finding recipe... finding ingredients... My Rating: 1 2 3 4 5 More Actions: add comment cancel add comment | view comment (0) close comment | cooking notes close notes | foodie tags close tags | share close share Edit Tags Rename Tag to My Notes: - Private info just for you! Add Comment: Comments:

Apple And Cheddar Soup With Roasted Apple Garnish (Washington Post, October, 2008) Ingredients: finding recipe... finding ingredients... My Rating: 1 2 3 4 5 More Actions: add comment cancel add comment | view comment (0) close comment | cooking notes close notes | foodie tags close tags | share close share Edit Tags Rename Tag to My Notes: - Private info just for you! Add Comment: Comments:

French Onion Soup (Gourmet, December, 2006) Ingredients: finding recipe... finding ingredients... My Rating: 1 2 3 4 5 More Actions: add comment cancel add comment | view comment (0) close comment | cooking notes close notes | foodie tags close tags | share close share Edit Tags Rename Tag to My Notes: - Private info just for you! Add Comment: Comments:

Black Bean Soup Sweet Potatoes (Fine Cooking, December/January, 2008) Ingredients: finding recipe... *Some Fine Cooking recipes require an on-line subscription to view recipes finding ingredients... My Rating: 1 2 3 4 5 More Actions: add comment cancel add comment | view comment (0) close comment | cooking notes close notes | foodie tags close tags | share close share Edit Tags Rename Tag to My Notes: - Private info just for you! Add Comment: Comments:

Red Lentil Soup (Gourmet, September, 2002) Ingredients: finding recipe... finding ingredients... My Rating: 1 2 3 4 5 More Actions: add comment cancel add comment | view comment (0) close comment | cooking notes close notes | foodie tags close tags | share close share Edit Tags Rename Tag to My Notes: - Private info just for you! Add Comment: Comments:

Creamy White Bean and Chorizo Soup (Bon Appétit, February, 2006) Ingredients: finding recipe... finding ingredients... My Rating: 1 2 3 4 5 More Actions: add comment cancel add comment | view comment (0) close comment | cooking notes close notes | foodie tags close tags | share close share Edit Tags Rename Tag to My Notes: - Private info just for you! Add Comment: Comments:

Good Greens Winter Soup (Better Homes & Gardens, January, 2008) Ingredients: finding recipe... finding ingredients... My Rating: 1 2 3 4 5 More Actions: add comment cancel add comment | view comment (0) close comment | cooking notes close notes | foodie tags close tags | share close share Edit Tags Rename Tag to My Notes: - Private info just for you! Add Comment: Comments:

Chicken Butternut Squash Soup (Better Homes & Gardens, February, 2009) My Rating: 1 2 3 4 5 View: finding recipe... More Actions: add comment cancel add comment | view comment (0) close comment | cooking notes close notes | foodie tags close tags | share close share Edit Tags Rename Tag to My Notes: - Private info just for you! Add Comment: Comments:

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