Traditions: Soup Sunday

The house is still quiet when I rise from my bed. Most mornings, the smell of brewed coffee greets me, but today I am the first to tread the creaking floorboards. After the normal Friday rituals— Bible, coffee, Instagram— I find myself in the kitchen, mixing flour and water together in anticipation of crusty bread.

My starter often sits neglected in my fridge, but on this morning, I remember to feed it, set it in a warm place, and then go about my day. Later, it will be added to more flour and water and salt, then baked into bread that will accompany a savory soup for my favorite Fall tradition: Soup Sunday.

Soup Sunday started for our family about four years ago. We were in the midst of a busy season of life, and the slower pace of making soup on Sundays before heading into our crazy week just felt right. Through the Covid years and changing life seasons, Soup Sunday is still going strong.

The recipes for Soup Sunday are varied and delicious. I love to rotate through my library of cookbooks, finding and keeping the favorites, trying new ones and adding to my repertoire. Of course, there are the staples that my family could eat every week: Baked Potato Soup, Chili, Beef Stew. And there are the new recipes that we’ve discovered we love as well: Curried Butternut Squash soup, Broccoli Cheddar, and the favorite known simply as “Yellow Soup.”

My grown children all vote and plea for their favorites from week to week. We gather in the kitchen, chopping veggies, adding spices, tasting to make sure it’s all just right. The fruits of our labors are ladled into bowls and consumed with satisfied “ahs” as the mixture hits our bellies and warms us from the inside.

There’s just something wonderful about soup.

It’s more than just broth and vegetables and spices that come together. These mixtures and recipes have become part of the fabric of our family story. The recipes and ingredients have woven themselves into who we are, and what we are about. It’s more than a simple nourishing meal, it’s the way that Soup Sunday brings us together, the way that it invites us into something warm, comforting, and familiar.

I’d love to hear your favorite soup recipes, and I’ll be sharing one of mine in my monthly newsletter, which drops around the turn of the month. Subscribe for exclusive access to recipes, stories, and more! Click here for access.