Empty Bowls, Soup Day continues....

Empty Bowl Day in Denton,Texas

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This week we decided not to make a new soup as we had a large container of the vegetable and pesto soup we had made last week still in the freezer . So with a little help from some ham and a few spices plus some new ciabatta rolls we managed to have a pleasant Soup Day as usual. The soup actually didn't seem much tastier as we had hoped it might but we knew we had a much tastier soup meal coming up on Saturday .This would be the day we would go with friends Sally and Joe to the annual “Empty Bowls” day in Denton.

Empty Bowls is a marvelous idea as it is a fundraising event with proceeds going to the local food pantry which helps by giving food to the many people who just don't have enough money to buy food . Yes, not all Americans are rich in fact many struggle each week just to make ends meet and this year we were told it seems to be worse than ever.

Our selection of bowls

So we paid for our tickets ( $15 ) each and off we went on a beautiful crisp sunny morning to Denton .We arrived to find the soup lunch was going great and the church hall where it was being held ,almost packed to capacity with lots of people and an equally large number of willing volunteers. There were two very long tables just full of the most lovely bowls made by local artisans. The idea is that you can select one of these great bowls to take home with you so everyone was picking up bowls to find just the right bowl for them. What a difficult choice to make! There were so many kinds. You could tell they were all lovingly made by a great many adults and children as their way of helping.

I had done some pottery making in the past and I could tell that many were truly wonderful pieces of art. Some bowls, made probably by the kids, were colorful and charming with finger prints all around the edges. The wooden bowls were lovely as well. So many different kinds.

The wonderful bowls

After we had selected our bowls we found a place at one of the long tables and then went to choose a soup. We did not use our art bowls for the soup. These were too special for that purpose. There were many soups to choose from; tomato, gumbo, vegetable ,chicken and noodles , sweet potato,chili , sausage and without exception, all were excellent and homemade and very tasty.

We all tried  different soups and each one was voted a 10 plus as just delicious. You could go back for  refills as many times as you wanted . I think Joe and Mike tried them all.

Vegetable Chili Soup

Meanwhile at the table we chatted about our pots and with the other people that were sitting there or just passing by . What a interesting time we had with such friendly people.

We talked to one of the organizers and she said that one man, Mr Reed had made over 300 various pots and these were much prized. He made them each year as his contribution. Some people who come every year collect his pots. Mike and I had actually inadvertently selected two of his pots .The fun part of the bowl was not only the skill, beauty and individual design but underneath on the base Mr Reed writes different inscriptions which are really fun to read. For instance on Mike's bowl it said” Reed 26 April 2012 Mowed the lawn this morning, played ball with the dog .Did this. Need to feed the fish “Then just as we were finishing Mr Reed came over to say “HI “ and we were so pleased to shake his hand and say "Thank you".

Joe and  Mr  Reed

There was also a silent auction with many beautiful paintings,bowls, dishes jewelry, scarves and other very special craft items all given by caring talented artists .All to swell the coffers for a good cause.

Just a lovely soup day and one which we will remember and be sure to attend in the future.