Founded in 2009, by Calgarian Sharon Hapton, Soup Sisters is a non-profit social enterprise dedicated to making homemade soup for women and youth shelters. Soup Sisters now operates in over 30 locations across Canada.
Help make soup for a local Vancouver shelter by signing up for a Soup Sisters event at Vancouver’s Dirty Apron Cooking School or Northwest Culinary Academy. Participants in the class help make 3-5 different soups under the instruction of a professional chef. The soups are then packaged and ready to be delivered fresh to a Vancouver shelter. Soup Sisters classes are social events with chopping, laughter and warm kitchen camaraderie that end in a sit-down supper of soup, salad, bread and wine. Participants not only learn to make soup from scratch, they leave knowing that they have helped provide nourishing homemade soup for homeless youth and women shelters in Vancouver. Cost per person is $55.00. See above respective websites for dates and more information for signing up for a Soup Sisters class.
To celebrate the Year of the Pulses (pulses include beans, lentils and chickpeas), the recipe of the week is Soup Sisters' delicious and easy to make Chunky Chickpea soup.
Recipe by permission from Soup Sisters/Appetite by Random House
Chunky Chickpea
Makes 4 servings
3 carrots, peeled and diced
3 stalks celery, diced
1 onion diced
3 Tbsp (45ml) olive oil
2 cans (19oz/540 mL each) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 tsp (10 mL) ground cumin
4 cups (1 L) chicken or vegetable stock
Salt and pepper to taste
Tabasco or other hot sauce to taste
1/2 cup of (125 mL) plain yogart
Paprika for garnish
1. In a large pot over medium heat, sauté the carrots, celery and onion in the oil, until the onion is softened.
2. Stir in the chickpeas and cumin.
3. Add the stock. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low.
4. Simmer, uncovered, until the carrots are very tender. Approx. 25 minutes.
5. Puree the soup until almost smooth. leaving it slightly chunky. Add salt, pepper and Tabasco to taste.
6. Serve into bowls and garnish with a spoonful of yogurt and a dash of paprika.
*Klara Meyers the author of this recipe notes that her three daughters love this soup on a chilly day.
The Soup Sisters Cookbook showcases delicious recipes from the "souper volunteers" including recipes from many of Canada's top celebrity chefs. With 100 recipes arranged by season, The Soup Sisters Cookbook is a must own for soup-lovers. All profits from the sale of the Soup Sisters cookbook are donated directly back to Soup Sisters.
