Sprinkles on the cupcake? Yes or no?

Is is worth it to add that little something extra in your recipes?

Soupalooza’s most recent column in the Daily Herald focused on sprinkles on the cupcake. No, not real cupcake sprinkles! We are talking about the little extra something that can be found in some soup recipes.

You know, the ingredient you have to run to the store to buy and might be a tad on the expensive side.

One of the soups we focused on was an Apple, Onion, Cheddar Soup that called for calvados, an apple brandy from the Normandy region of France. A small bottle was $24 at the local liquor store. We tried the recipe with the calvados and we tried it without.

Give peas a chance. Part 2

Snap peas make a delightful summer soup, especially when you add Marmite.

My soup and yoga mentor, Catriona, gave the split pea soup a try and here’s what she had to say:

I was so enthused by the green pea soup, I made a batch of it this afternoon!  The caraway seeds make such a difference.  I also put in 3 bay leaves and, because I know they would be the first words Bob’s would ask,  I chopped up a couple of slices of ham.  Exceedingly yummy.

Give peas a chance

Pea soup doesn't need a hambone to have full flavor and richness.

Soupalooza published its second column in the Daily Herald  … this time we focused on split pea soup, admittedly a love-it-or-hate-it proposition. As a matter of fact, Daily Herald Editor John Lampinen wrote on his facebook page:

There are two phenomena I never will understand: 1) People who can smoke one cigarette every couple of months. And 2) people who will eat split pea soup without a gun pointed at their heads…. But if somehow you’re part of the latter phenomenon, our soup columnist has a creative suggestion for you.