Cream of

Just for fun, looking for an old sign to hang, could really make one myself, entered the phrase "Clam Chowder" into eBay's search engine.  Do you know that some genius is offering cans of Campbell's New England Clam Chowder, three for $6.75 plus shipping?  Am I in another country or what?  Every American grocery should have clam chowder on its shelves.  Buying Campbell's soup from eBay is plain weird, just go get a can of clams, add milk, potatoes and pepper.  Done.

If I knew how to work eBay, I could clean out the cupboard and make some change.  Campbell's is no mystery, and they expect you to get 2.5 portions out of one can, which means about 1/2 cup of soup per at 650 milligrams of sodium.  One. Half. Cup.  Raise your hand if that's all you can manage, so you know that if you will take on the entire one and a half cups times the sodium by 2.5, this guarantees your blood pressure will satellite through the ceiling.

Go to the website and there is plenty of woofing about nutrition and health.  I scanned the brands of condensed soups and noticed several familiar ones were missing, namely the tripe-based Pepper Pot, the muttony Scotch Broth, and Black Bean.  Amazon offers waiting lists for Pepper Pot and Scotch Broth, when they become available, for you folks hankering for cow stomach or ye old leg of.

Pepper Pot, however, connects with American history in that the soldiers at Valley Forge sustained themselves with  soup made of tripe and vegetables.  Apparently, the local farmers sold to the strong British dollar, and the leftovers were then afforded by the weaker economy of the Continental Army.  Philadelphia Pepper Pot was later offered by street vendors throughout the 19th century, till the Atomic Age produced condensed soups and everyone could then go play bridge with the girls instead of cooking tripe for 2 1/2 hours.

Soup is always good, but to develop flavor requires at least a half hour of simmer and a preferable overnight stay in the fridge.  Rivvels tossed into a broth smartly bulk up the recipe if other ingredients are sparse, and add chewy satisfaction to the meal.  I can't say that I don't appreciate a can of soup in a pinch, and keep a few on hand.  But selling soup on eBay?  Is it a regional thing?

Well, here's to soup, soup, beautiful soup.  Chowder, broth, bouillon, mulligatawny, burgoo, stew, porridge in a bowl with a heel of bread or a handful of oyster crackers afloat. My supper's done, time to end the day.  Thank and bless all, tuck head under wing, dream of bowls and spoons.