Soup

Hear those school bells ringing? It's time to start packing -- lunch, that is. For these warm first days, your student might appreciate a little cool relief in his lunch, like applesauce, fruit or yogurt. Come winter, a cup of soup takes off the chill. A good insulated storage container should keep cold foods cold and hot foods hot. We bought three 10-ounce containers and tested their performance on yogurt and soup. The yogurt went into the containers straight from the refrigerator at about 37 degrees; the soup was boiling at 212 degrees.

Linda Randazzo of Winchester, Va., was searching for a recipe for a tomato-coconut soup similar to the one she had enjoyed at a restaurant years ago. Jane Clark of Morristown, Tenn., sent in a recipe that she found on the Internet and likes very much. This flavor-filled soup starts simply with a can of crushed tomatoes and ends up with an exotic Indian flavor. The individual servings are garnished with toasted coconut, which helps to mellow the acidity of the tomatoes and provides a nice crunch.

Most people on this side of the Atlantic Ocean grew up knowing pumpkins in four main ways: as jack-o'-lanterns at Halloween, as blue-ribbon winners at state fairs, as crack-and-spit seed snacks and as the primary ingredient in Thanksgiving pies.Oh yes, we mustn't forget Cinderella's coach.Every now and then, a daring soul puts pumpkin soup on the table, but unless diners are properly primed, the proffered bowl is met with, at best, polite skepticism.As much fun as it is to carve, grow and show pumpkins, there are myriad other uses for our round orange friends: fritters, waffles, muffins, breads, soups, stews, puddings and casseroles.

Sometime later there was another ball at the castle. Again Furball asked the Cook if she could go and watch the guests arrive.Go," he grunted, but be sure to be back in one half hour to make the King that soup he is so fond of."Furball promised to be back in one half hour and ran quickly to her little shed. There she washed off the stains and soot from her face and hands, and let down her hair. Then she took her dress as silvery as the moon out of the walnut shell and put it on. Again the shed shone with the light of her dress.

When the rest of the world is laughing at the "Seinfeld" finale May 14, you'll want to be in on the jokes. If you're not familiar with Jerry-speak, here's a quick guide to help you figure out what's so funny:Yada, yada, yada: Sort of like "and so on," but with an edge. Much easier to say "yada, yada, yada" than to finish a conversation, or even a thought. The Seinfeldian answer to "blah, blah, blah."Master of your domain: Refers to sexual self-gratification (strictly speaking, it's one who abstains from same)

PHILADELPHIA -- You've got a subjectively judged sport. You've got a controversial selection process. And now you've got a major sponsor announcing its own "Dream Team" two days before the start of the pseudo-Olympic qualifier.A Don King production?Nope, the 1998 U.S. Figure Skating Championships.It's dangerous enough that Olympic berths are decided on the whims of judges. And now Campbell's Soup is weighing in with its opinion -- 140 million times over.That's right, no matter what happens in the long program tomorrow night, Michelle Kwan, Tara Lipinski and Nicole Bobek are coming soon to a supermarket near you.Tonia Kwiatkowski?

It's a steamy night, the kind that calls out for iced gazpacho or chilled cucumber soup with dill. But we've taken refuge in the polished dining room of Ciao Bella in Little Italy, and that means our soup options are limited to those of the hot Italian variety.I sweat just thinking about ordering the minestrone. But if the kitchen can turn out decent minestrone on a night like this, a night when no sane person would possibly order it, I'd be impressed.I am. Not to make too much out of a bowl of soup, but this is no ordinary minestrone.

My husband and I recently drove from our home in Massachusetts to visit good friends in Connecticut. We were invited to a casual summer dinner and to spend the night. Our hosts, talented cooks and inveterate entertainers, served a delicious meal and assembled a fascinating group of guests. After dinner ended at midnight, we helped our friends quickly load the dishwasher and straighten up.Not until the next morning, when we were all making breakfast together, did we see the big pot of water with the corn in it from the evening before.

NEW YORK -- I don't know whether the ascendancy of soup began with a "Seinfeld" episode about soup so remarkable that Jerry would do anything to avoid antagonizing the terrible-tempered chef he secretly referred to as the Soup Nazi.But it made me eager for a taste at the real-life Soup Kitchen International in Manhattan.Had the TV writers exaggerated? Is Al Yeganeh's soup really wonderful? Would I have to grovel to get it?It was pouring rain on a January day when my husband and I stood in line ("on line," as they say in New York)

Food essayist and funnyman Calvin Trillin lamented in his book "American Fried": "I often have to sit in a Chinese restaurant helplessly while a tableful of Chinese businessmen across the room are stuffing down succulent-looking dishes that were obviously ordered off the wall."That's kind of how we felt at the Golden Gate Noodle House, where the specials list was written in Chinese. We watched as two young women shared a plate of glistening Chinese broccoli, and what looked like a country-style stew served in an iron pot. Neither was on the regular menu.

THURSDAY CRAB SOUP STAKES: Restaurant Week kicks off with a crabby competition at the Harborplace Amphitheater, Light and Pratt streets, from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Whether you're a cream-based devotee or prefer tomato-based crab soups, there'll be samples for both camps. Attendees get to vote for their favorites from area restaurants. The event is free. Call 410-332-4191 or go to harborplace.com. WTMD'S FIRST THURSDAYS IN THE PARK: "Listen for the music, look for the monument." In this case, listen for Evan Watson and Ms. Sara and the Help at the Washington Monument in Mount Vernon.

With summer's heat and humidity finally making their presence known, a steaming bowl of soup doesn't sound too appetizing. There's an option, though: Chill out. "It took a little while for people to get the concept of cold soup," said Kevin Mullaney, co-owner of Soup's On, a small dine-in and carry-out place specializing in soup on Preston Street. "It was just a matter of time and tasting." Many area establishments are serving chilled soup this summer, and Soup's On is on the bandwagon.

It is inevitable that actor Greg Kinnear's name is going to come up in any discussion of actor-comedian Joel McHale. Both became widely known through the irreverent and popular E! entertainment channel TV show now known as The Soup. And both have moved beyond it. Kinnear used the show as a launching pad to become a film star. And McHale, who appears Saturday night in a comedy concert at Baltimore's Meyerhoff Symphony Hall as he continues his winning weekly performance with The Soup, is starting to break out on screens big and small as well.

In Bolton Hill, the neighborhood pool is the summer social nucleus. In winter, there's the Soup Group. It began as an informal get-together of a few families over soup. The host would make the soup, and the guests would bring wine and other dishes. Adults would visit and eat, while the kids watched videos and ate pizza or some other kid-friendly food. Over time, the Soup Group became a well-coordinated effort that takes place every three weeks in the winter months. "I love having soup nights built into my winter social schedule," says member Jessica Dailey.

At my house, we make soup in the winter. We do this because, as the French chef Auguste Escoffier once 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." And we do it because soup is relatively easy to assemble and results in terrific leftovers. Moreover, we make soup because it is warm and January in Baltimore is cold. I have downed a lot of soup in my time. But until recently, when I became schooled on soup etiquette by reading a variety of soup Web sites, the best being Soupsong, I was unaware of the fine points of genteel soup sipping.

Creme fraiche is not nearly as fancy as its French name would suggest. It is easy to find, easier to make and imparts a tart but sophisticated taste to everything from raspberries to smoked salmon. "It is like an even more wonderful cream," said chef Frances Chumley of Whole Foods in Annapolis, who demonstrates how simple it is for home cooks to make their own. "The flavor is kind of tangy and a little bit nutty," she said. "And my favorite way to use it is on a nice cobbler, right out of the oven."

Chesapeake Gardens 800 N. Crain Highway, Glen Burnie; 443-749-0411. Open 7 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m-3 p.m. Saturday Green food lives in Glen Burnie. Tucked among the automobile dealerships and transmission-repair shops on North Crain Highway is Chesapeake Gardens. This cafe and carryout, now almost four months old, has a limited menu, but it delivers terrific soups, crisp salads and toothsome sandwiches, all made from natural or organic foods. Even the takeout containers are recyclable, or, as a note on the cardboard soup container puts it, compostable.

Soup's On opened back in February above a natural foods store in Mount Vernon, a few blocks from the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. This is a hidden space that you meet up a short flight of stairs from a single door at street level. Over the decades, a bunch of cafes and carry-outs have tried to make a go of it up there. The most notable success was Soo's Kimchee House. A few of the other attempts seemed doomed from the start. It's a quirky little space, but it has a sweet and cozy dining area, with a fireplace, wood tables and polished wooden floors, and cushioned seating at a big bay window.

Afew months ago, while my husband and I were in Paris working for several weeks, I noticed an unusual soup listed on the chalkboard outside a cafe in our neighborhood. I wasn't planning to eat lunch there but was so intrigued by the sound of a carrot-and-coconut soup that I stopped in. The waitress asked if I wanted the potage cold or warm, and I opted for the latter. Several minutes later, she returned with a bowl of piping-hot soup that was thick, creamy and a lovely orange hue. One sip and I knew I wanted the recipe.

This soup was inspired by some Thai peanut chicken sausage links. Tired of browning sausage whole, then serving it with a vegetable and some pasta or rice, I opted for soup. Taking the links out of their casings, I formed them into meatballs, then browned them. And I threw together some vegetables and seasonings that lent themselves to a Thai-inspired soup. But meatballs take too much time for a weeknight meal. Instead, brown the links, then cut into slices. Joe Gray writes for the Chicago Tribune, which provided the recipe analysis.