One of my great joys the last couple of years has been my involvement with Soup Sisters. An extraordinary organization, founded by one of my heroes, Sharon Hapton, in Calgary in 2009, it brings community together to create nurturing soup for local women and children in need.
At our Kelowna chapter, my volunteer partners and I organize groups of people each month at our “soup kitchen” (Okanagan Street Food Restaurant) and under the caring direction of owner chef Neil Schroeter, we make soup for the Kelowna Women’s Shelter. Each month, we create a one month supply (about 60L) of soup that is ladled into individual covered glass bowls and one-litre containers, labeled with names, ingredients and soup making team names, and then delivered to the shelter’s freezer.
Sharon has just launched a cookbook. The Soup Sisters Cookbook contains 100 simple soup recipes that will warm your hearts and bellies. The recipes are arranged by season and contain recipes from Soup Sisters as well as many of Canada’s top celebrity chefs like Michael Stadlander, Bonnie Stern, Lucy Waverman and Anna Olsen. I was very honoured to be asked by Sharon to contribute a recipe and am thrilled to be a part of this important book with my Celeriac & Apple Soup recipe.
With every sale of this book, a much-needed bowl of soup will find its way to someone in need. The book is available through Amazon and Chapters online and is available at Soup Sisters events. If you would like to book an event for your group or join in with another group, we have only two dates left available in 2013: Jan. 23, 2013 from 6-9 p.m. or Dec. 15, 2013 from 6-9 p.m. Please go to our website for more details on how the events are organized: www.soupsisters.org or email me: kelowna@soupsisters.org. Soup = Love.
On another fun and fabulous note, Osoyoos is getting ready to go glam! After the weekend of Oct. 19, the desert is never to be the same — the queens are en route and ready to shake down the first annual Priscilla Queen of the Desert event.
This will be a glamorous celebration of all things food, wine and drag — Okanagan style. Good Life Vancouver is organizing amazing bus trips coming from Vancouver that include wine tastings, tours and stunning meals. Accommodations are based at the lovely Walnut Beach Resort, who will also be hosting the Fruity Pink and Sparkling wine tasting event sponsored by Food & Wine Trails Magazine (that’s me- yay!).
An extravagant wine-paired and drag queen-hosted dinner will be one of the highlights of the weekend at Tinhorn Creek’s Miradoro Restaurant. The gorgeous drag queens are the very best in Western Canada and include host Joan-E, Devanna DeMille, Iona Whipp, and Oddree Mayormaynot. They will be performing their show on Friday night.
Partial proceeds of the festival will be directed to The Shooting Stars Foundation. This foundation produces unique special events with passion, integrity and innovation to raise money for people living with HIV/AIDS. Their grants support community-based organizations providing supplemental health care, food and shelter to persons living with HIV/AIDS. The foundation board oversees the receipt and distribution of funds from our events to frontline HIV/AIDS organizations.
There are a variety of packages or individual tickets available — please book now to avoid disappointment. This is an exclusive event with a limited number of tickets. Break out your boas darlings. http://www.queenofthedesert.ca
Jennifer Schell is
the editor of
B.C. Food and Wine Trails Magazine.