Plough Girls CSA Soup

“There ain’t no point in making soup unless others eat it. Soup needs another mouth to taste it, another heart to be warmed by it.” – children’s author Kate DiCamillo

Plough Girls Soup CSA came into being because of the Covid epidemic four years ago.  Delivering soups enabled me to socialize, while savoring my own soups kept my insides warm and calm during this period of uncertainty.

Today, we no longer isolate (for the most part), but soup days are just as important now as then, even without the masks.

Dear friends:

It’s that time of year!  Once again, I invite you to join me for four weeks of soups that celebrate autumn. As I have tried to do every fall over the last four years, each pot of soup is built from the season’s best—slow simmered and deeply flavored, and designed to make your life a bit easier as we head into the fall/holiday season.

For those of you who have been with me since the beginning, here is a chance to revisit your weekly autumn ritual: thaw the soup, heat gently, add some bread, and voila! dinner is ready.  And as always, there will be a dessert option.

You know me; I always need a theme!  This year I’ve dreamed up something special: a four-week journey through the flavors of autumn. As always, I hope to use ingredients from local farmers, as well as my own garden, when feasible.   Here’s what you can look forward to as a subscriber:You and I both know that there is nothing like soup.  By its nature, each bowl is unique with its own flavors and engaging personality (unless you are eating canned soup 😊).

I am limiting my production to 35 quarts a week, so if you are interested, you might consider signing up earlier rather than later.

And remember, dear reader, that there is no ” kinder, more adaptable friend in the food world than soup.  Who soothes you when you are ill? Who refuses to leave you when you are impoverished and stretches its resources to give a hearty sustenance and cheer? Who warms you in the winter and cools you in the summer? Yet who also is capable of doing honor to your richest table and impressing your most demanding guests? Soup does its loyal best, no matter what undignified conditions are imposed upon it. You don’t catch steak hanging around when you’re poor and sick, do you?” (Miss Manners)

The Plough Girls Association February Soup CSA runs for 4 weeks.  Here is how it works.  Individuals will subscribe to have a quart of homemade seasonal soup (with the option of an add-on dessert) delivered each week to a designated pick-up location.

At this point, one pick-up location will be at the Caswell Farmer’s Market (Goodwill) parking lot in Yanceyville at 4:30 p.m.  and another will be at the Food Lion (Southwyke) parking lot in Danville, VA at 9:30 a.m..  If a group wants to get together and order soups, we can arrange other drop-off points.  If you are within 8 miles of one of the designated locations, I can drop off the soup at your home for $5 per delivery.

CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. According to its original design, it allows consumers to buy food directly from a farm. You sign up at the beginning of the growing season and receive a weekly load of fresh produce.  However, my “crops” are home-made soups and desserts, many of which were served at the Yancey House Restaurant (and my current culinary classes).

During my restaurant days, I attended the Safe Serve classes.  Yancey House had a 102% rating from opening day.  Plough Girl soups and desserts are prepared in my NC Certified kitchen by me (Chef Lucindy).  In addition, I will brew the soups a few days before delivery so I can freeze them.  This way, I won’t have to worry if you decide to run a few errands before heading home with your soup.

I’m considering having one for dinner and storing the other in the freezer. Great idea.  You can sign up for two quarts (or more) a week and receive a small discount.  However, if you have signed up for 1 quart but want to add an extra quart one week (for example, maybe for a Valentine or Mardi Gras gift, just let me know five days before the delivery dates so I can plan accordingly. The second quart would be the same price as the first quart.

In addition, if you do not like one of the soups I have listed, you can skip that week and then “double” up on another soup choice.  For example, you might not want the gumbo.  In that case, you could choose to get two quarts of butternut squash soup.

Probably so.  Just email me and I will do my best to accommodate you and your group. Depending on the number, you might still be charged a delivery fee.  We can talk about it.

Remember Dani Rojas in Ted Lasso): “Football is life!”  I feel the same way about soup.  Many years ago, famed French chef, Escoffier, said: ““Soup puts the heart at ease, calms down the violence of hunger, eliminates the tension of the day, and awakens and refines the appetite.”