The Soup is On!

We started doing Soup Suppers during Lent the first year of our little church plant. A few years ago, we added Soup Suppers to our Advent season as well. The onions are braising, the beans are simmering with the ham shanks, and two out of three are in a nap. I found a little interesting history about one of my favorite soups:

Senate Bean Soup

Bean soup is on the menu in the Senate's restaurant every day. There are several stories about the origin of that mandate, but none has been corroborated.  According to one story, the Senate’s bean soup tradition began early in the 20th-century at the request of Senator Fred Dubois of Idaho.  Another story attributes the request to Senator Knute Nelson of Minnesota, who expressed his fondness for the soup in 1903.

Or, for a little more excitement:

Legend has it that in the early 1900s powerful House Speaker Joseph Cannon came in for lunch one day, looked at the menu, didn’t see bean soup listed, and exclaimed, “Thunderation, I had my mouth set for bean soup. From now on, hot or cold, rain, snow, or shine, I want it on the menu everyday.” And, so it is. Every day of the week, every month of the year, Senate Bean Soup is on the menu at all 11 Capitol dining rooms.

Fondue - pronounced [fahn-DOO] Rules

“If a woman drops a cube of bread into the fondue, she has to kiss all the men; if a man drops the bread cube, he has to buy a bottle of wine. If the person drops a cube of bread for the second time, he or she must host the next fondue part,” according to Hamlyn Press, publishers of The Fondue Cookbook.

or

One of the most popular Fondue customs is if a lady loses her bread cube in the Fondue she owes the man to her right a kiss. If a man has such a mishap when dining in a restaurant, he should buy the next round of drinks. At home, he owes his hostess a kiss!

or

Fondue tradition states that if you drop the food off of the fork, and into the pot, you have to kiss the person next to you.

Another fun Fondue tradition is to leave a thin layer of Fondue at the bottom of the caquelon. By carefully adjusting the heat, this layer will form into a crust known as "la religieuse" - the religious one. Lift it out and distribute among your guests. It is considered a delicacy.