Soup Group, Seven Years Later

Back in January 2019, my friend Liz had the brilliant idea to start a soup group to help us get through the long, dark winter. The rules were simple: our six friends would rotate houses every couple months, the host would make soup, and the guests would bring salad, bread, and dessert.

The evenings were so bolstering that we kept it up after winter ended, and now we’ve held soup group every few months for the past seven years (!). One of my favorite recipes was Linsey’s tortilla soup, pictured above.

A couple times we’ve gone rogue and served pasta instead…

…or taken “field trips” to neighborhood restaurants.

And our children often make cameos. I love this photo of Toby holding court.

Last month, we went to Liz’s apartment. Her husband is Swedish, and it was fun to find Swedish fish on everyone’s plate.

And we celebrated all recent birthdays with a pumpkin cake.

Then, last night, we went to our friend Linsey’s — she’s famous for her legendary Christmas tree. (Would you ever like a primer for how she does it? She used to work at Martha Stewart Living and is “low-key a decorating genius,” as Anton said.)

I had the boys last night, so Anton came with me and we didn’t stay long, but it was fun to hug everyone and sneak a grilled cheese sandwich.

Over the seven years, we’ve talked about EVERYTHING — work, marriage, children, books, hiking, nail polish, iguanas — and we’ve gone through so much — illness, surgeries, loss, depressions, divorces, heartbreak. “Soup Group is the safest space,” Gisela texted this morning. “Every topic is welcome and embraced.” It’s such a comfort to know that every few months, there will be soup. You don’t have to plan ahead, you always know what to do. It almost feels like church.

“There’s no place in this world or in history where there haven’t been groups of women talking,” poet Kate Baer told me in a recent Big Salad interview. “No matter what happens, we will still find and help each other.” How lucky are we?

Please tell me: Do you have any friend rituals in your life? (Regular walks? Cookbook clubs? Running errands?) Would you like to start one? I always love hearing different ways to gather. Also, please let me know if there are any soup recipes you’d recommend!!! I’m hosting in January and need some ideas :)

P.S. How to make friends as an adult, and Toby’s genius way of making friends.