Delicious New Menu!

Soupies,

Just a little reminder to please place your orders for next week. Thanks!

Leftovers (Feeds 2-4)... $5 You know how hard it is to put those leftovers to good use at home... imagine the Herculean task of cleaning out the Soup Peddler's fridge each week? Instead of having to divert a river, we've come up with a great new menu item, a bit of a Dealer's Choice casserole featuring leftovers from the previous week. And in hard times such as these, it's a real value! Feed the whole family for less... Freezes well.... [ingredients]

Creme de Poisson d'Or (Feeds 2-4)... $8 Another of our culinary department's brilliant cost-cutting measures. We work with local pet stores to recycle their unwanted fish in order to save on protein, and of course we pass the savings along to you. This recipe derived from the classic French tradition of cream soups is sure to please but not break the bank in the process... Freezes well.... [ingredients]

Inside-Out Sandwiches (Feeds 2-4)... $11 They said it couldn't be done, but we have improved upon the age-old construction of the sandwich with just a little out-of-the-box thinking. The low-carb movement has driven us to these extremes of creativity, since the inside-out sandwich requires literally 50% less bread. There are drawbacks, true, but progress has its opportunity costs! Nothing forward-thinking ever happens easily... Freezes well.... [ingredients]

Edith Pilaf (Feeds 2-4)... $11 Another in our series of musically-inspired dishes, who can forget such beloved dishes as Elton Jam, Aretha Frankfurters, Captain Beef Liver, and Jelly Rolls Morton. So crank up the old Victrola and pour yourself a tall glass of red wine to accompany this excellent dish... Freezes well.... [ingredients]

Hot Dogs (Feeds 2-4)... $11 A new take on the American classic, furrier, squirmier and crunchier than you remember but every bit as delicious. For all you locavores out there, you'll be pleased to know that this item is locally grown! Freezes well.... [ingredients]

Trout a la Kilgore (Feeds 2-4)... $11 Inspired by the inimitable fictional science fiction writer Kilgore Trout, the semi-autobiographical character from Breakfast of Champions, served on a bed of braised harmoniums and slathered with a rich Tralfamadorian cream sauce... Freezes well.... [ingredients]

Genuine Hickory Smoke (Feeds 2-4)... $11 No kitchen pantry is complete without the indispensible umami flavor of smoke... instead of using that mysterious tincture of liquid smoke, we recommend our hand-captured quart-sized bags of fresh South Austin hickory smoke... Freezes well.... [ingredients]

Faux (Feeds 2-4)... $11 Our original vegetarian version of Pho, the national soup of Vietnam! We considered calling it Faux Pho but decided that reduction, not augmentation was in order, that indeed, to quote Mies van der Rohe, "less is more." Freezes well.... [ingredients]

Special Brownies (Feeds 2-4)... $111 Another in our series of homegrown favorites, the secret ingredient for our special brownies makes for a kinder, gentler dessert experience. Strangely addictive, the more you eat these, the better they taste and the greater your craving... Freezes well.... [ingredients]

Thank you, as always, for the opportunity to bring some specialness to your lives and allow us, the folks at The Soup Peddler, to be fulfilled by the task. If you love this business, please forward this message to a friend!

Yours,

David J. Ansel
Principal Soupmaker
The Soup Peddler, Inc.

SXSW Band Name Revue

I admit this is off-topic for a food blog, but the Soupies have come to depend on me each year to help them navigate the maze of SXSW band names. Previous band name winners I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness, Crapulence, and Phil & The Osophers went on to greatness (I think) after being bestowed the honor of Soup Peddler's Best SXSW Band Name.

Although the paucity of "wolf"-based band names this year has been lamented by many in the blogosphere, I felt that there was still a strong showing, including Turbowolf, Pack Of Wolves, Wolves In The Throne Room, AIDS Wolf (can anyone explain?), and Yoni Wolf, which either sounds like a Jewish name or a predator of the the Sanskrit "divine passage".

Definitely a good showing for the animal kingdom this year, though, with a decent equine and feline concentrations: An Horse, Stereo Pony, and Toy Horses, with Legendary Tiger Man, The Republic Tigers, Miniature Tigers, and Lions In The Street. From there we have Deer Tick, Fight Like Apes, Grizzly Bear, Greyhounds, Street Dogs, Guinea Worms, Hello Seahorse, The Lemurs, Hot Panda, Crocodile, Midnight Peacocks, The Iguanas, Ocelot, Ox.Eagle.Lion.Man, Or The Whale, and Rabid Rabbits.

Our friend the Grim Reaper seems to be taking the year off, more or less. The death theme seems to be taking a breather while awaiting a new generation of morbid listeners. Disease and injury are still a hot topic, however, with Yellow Fever, Girl In A Coma, The Cute Lepers, Coma In Algiers, and the perennial favorite Cancer Bats (can anyone explain?).

I was pleased to see Attack! Attack!, Bam Bam, and Bang! Bang! all in the lineup this year and while we're appreciating emphatic names, I love the use of exactly four exclamation marks for Gravy Train!!!! No more, no less. Did anyone notice that both the Bar Kays and Bo Keys are playing this year?

But enough clowning around, let's get onto the list of candidates for best band name. Our, uh, eleven, no make that twelve runners-up this year are...

Casiotone For The Painfully Alone
Dananananaykroyd
Natalie Portman's Shaved Head
DD/MM/YYYY
Deleted Waveform Gatherings
French Horn Rebellion
Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt
Good Times Crisis Band
The Phenomenal Handclap Band
Gringo Star
Scissors For Lefty, and
Underwater Tea Party

And our winner (I don't know exactly why but this is my list and I'm in charge here and it gave me the biggest smile) is...

We Were Promised Jetpacks

Huzzah!! To all of the likely woefully underfed members of We Were Promised Jetpacks, come on down to The Soup Peddler and we'll give you some free grub.

'Cause The Man Is Wise!

Sadly, neither my recent email warning nor the spate of press regarding the last soup-related cocaine bust at a DC area airport was enough to prevent Jorge Luis Posada Guevara from trying the same old trick. This time, the bust occurred at Dulles airport. Sixteen pounds of cocaine stuffed into dried soup packets. I'm just terribly disappointed in the lack of communication in this Salvadoran drug organization. Is it nobody's job to feed back this critical information to headquarters? At least a little "Hey, Frankie got busted at BWI, they're on to the whole dried soup packet trick so please use hot chocolate or something next time." I don't know if I'm alone here, but I've just come to expect more precision and discipline out of organized criminals.