Soup and Bread Cookbook: Building Community One Pot at a Time - Softcover

"[Soup & Bread] has grown to a weekly event feeding 100 people and raising thousands of dollars to fight hunger...In her new book, Bayne shares the recipes that have warmed those many souls." --Joe Gray, Chicago Tribune "A book like this makes me think that really, I could live a lovely and fulfilling life and eat only soup." --Julia Kramer, Time Out Chicago "Martha Bayne's new book is a reflection on the cultural importance of soup as much as a cookbook...The book reflects the almost palpable enthusiasm for soup that can be felt at the [Soup & Bread] events." --Julia Thiel, Chicago Reader "Soup & Bread has been a Chicago institution since it took over wintery Wednesday nights at The Hideout...Now, the event's organizer Martha Bayne has commemorated the event's success with the new Soup & Bread Cookbook, a guide to some of the night's biggest culinary successes. Featuring contributions from Stephanie Izard, "Hot" Doug Sohn, and Paul Kahan, the book brings together a charming array of soup facts, recipes, and images that make readers just long for cold nights with a bowl of something starchy and pureed." --The A.V. Club "Stunning to read or just stare at for hours." --Chuck Sudo, The Chicagoist "...one of the most thought-provoking (and appetizing!) books I've picked up in a long time." -Tamar Fleishman, Baltimore Examiner "There are oodles of recipes -- nine chilis alone -- but Bayne has added a narrative full of history and stories about soup...the book is a handsome package." --Rebecca Lomax, Chicago Journal "Recommended. We love the story and idea behind the book and its lovely design, but most importantly, it's full of delicious-sounding recipes that are clear and easy to follow." --Apartment Therapy: The Kitchn "A significant document on the importance of food and community...It's a book of genuine people from all angles of life sharing food and recipes with each other in an effort to help more others yet." --Food on the Dole PRAISE FOR MARTHA BAYNE'S SOUP & BREAD NIGHT: "In the past two years, [Martha Bayne's] effort, Soup and Bread, has raised more than $10,000 from patrons and the sale of a cookbook for local hunger-relief programs." --Jessica Reaves, New York Times, January 20, 2011 "In the three years since [Martha Bayne] and fellow former Chicago Reader staffer Sheila Sachs founded Soup & Bread, Bayne's seen hundreds of different soups starting with hundreds of different, delicious broths." --Amelia Levin, Chicago Sun-Times, January 11, 2011 "Kind of like the Iron Chef of soup." --Centerstage Chicago "It's a culi-charity (has that been coined?) event designed to be low-key, easy to participate in, and fun for the community, especially in the middle of a freezing Midwest winter." --Not Eating Out in New York "Chicago's most laid-back, nutritious party." --Grub Street Chicago

The Soup and Bread Cookbook aims to explore the social role of soup through a collection of terrific, affordable recipes from food activists, chefs, and others. This quirky exploration of the cultural history of soup as a tool for both building community and fostering social justice is the result of a brainstorm: eating your way through a pot of soup day after day can get boring -- why not get together and swap some with friends? Now neighbors across the country are getting together regularly for home-based "soup swaps." In Chicago, the arts collective InCUBATE uses soup as a microfunding tool. And of course, soup can be a political statement: the radical volunteers of Food Not Bombs have been providing free vegetarian soup to the hungry as a protest against war and social injustice since 1980. These are just a few examples of the stories Bayne wraps around a collection of delicious, accessible, and tested soup recipes.