September 29th, 2007
Is it soup (time) yet?
Ah, September. It’s almost over, but I so love September. It’s the best month of the year. AUTUMN, my golden, crisp, happy time, finds its birth this wonderful month. I feel like I want to do stuff again when September comes. Like turn the oven on. Like make the soup. And it’s finally time. Wild rice soup and beer cheese soup; potato leek soup and chicken noodle soup; even chili and stew. Someday I hope to learn to make both a tomato basil soup and artisan baguette worthy of the late [Pam Sherman](http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-97312384.html), and somehow recall those delicious afternoons at her bakery on Hennepin at Lake. Because it was the first *really* good soup and bread I had ever had, I will forever recall it as the best. And a culinary regret I will carry with me is not taking the bread baking class she taught years ago that was offered through Cooks of Crocus Hill.
In my soupview, the stock has to be good enough to eat all by itself. That means making it myself; and that means soup can take hours. Working on it a little at a time reduces the travail. I try to make a lot of stock one day and freeze it; then I prepare as many of the other soup ingredients ahead of time as possible. When it comes time to make the soup, it can be mostly a matter of putting it together in the right order and proper way.
It’s funny. I know people who don’t cook much and when I used to tell them, “It’s easy” I meant that none of the steps could be messed up, really, unless you tried–or let it burn or something. I didn’t realize that people who don’t really cook don’t *want* to cook. They don’t *want* to spend that much time making really good soup. If they want really good soup they will buy it. Or get it from me.
November 8th, 2007 at 10:35 pm
I happened upon your blog when I did a search for “Pam Sherman tomato basil soup.” I still obsess about the soup and bread from the bakery on Hennepin. I would have both at least twice a week when I lived near there. This was 15 years ago and I still fantasize about it!
Do you have a recipe for the soup? I even tried writing to the Star Tribune back in those days and never got a response. I will go to my grave trying to replicate a bowl of that magical stuff.
November 9th, 2007 at 6:46 am
I was hoping someone would comment who, like me, dreams of that soup! No, I don’t have a recipe for it, or anything that comes close.
I wonder if the newspaper would be worth another try? Maybe they would do a Pam Sherman tribute… Mmmmmmmm…
May 8th, 2008 at 3:27 pm
I was just in a cooking class recently, and someone mentioned Pam Sherman and her lovely bakery!
July 7th, 2009 at 5:01 pm
I must say, Pam Sherman’s tomato basil soup and herb baguette together were as good as [......] SO DELICIOUS! I also wish I could get the recipes for these. I will miss them for the rest of my life; that’s how incredible was the taste. The Turtle Bread Co on 44th has her tomato basil soup but not the herb baguette (just the regular french baguette); it’s just not the same. I worked on at the Nicollet Ave location back in ‘93ish and miss the days of bringing home the leftovers.
July 8th, 2009 at 12:53 pm
I didn’t know I could get THE soup at the Turtle Bakery!!!
I love it that the few of us who think to Google for her recipes will find this post!
THANK YOU!
May 9th, 2010 at 1:15 pm
Ah, the tomato soup! I used to work at Pam’s cafe on Hennepin in Uptown from 85′-87′. I have yet to find as good of soups and breads anywhere. Seriously, she knew how to cook. I worked in the kitchen and waited tables for a while, and have such great memories of that time. Thanks for this nice article……