During the Souper Bowl Challenge, we’re asking YOU, the people who support Vermont farmers by keeping us busy restocking local root vegetables, squash, and dairy, to submit your favorite recipes for soup. Enter a recipe featuring one of five local ingredients (potatoes, carrots, squash, beets, or dairy) and get a chance to win a $50 gift certificate to City Market. The winning soup will be chosen by participants taking a soup making class on January 12, and City Market member-workers will pack up 250 bags with the ingredients to send up the road to the Food Shelf to help a neighbor in need.

I sampled the classic Moosewood Cookbook borscht recipe to shoppers on Sunday, a hearty soup full of local potatoes, beets, onions, carrots, and cabbage.

Every Sunday afternoon I do a demo down in the Produce department. The demos feature local vegetables that are often a little quirky, or at least something that your average customer might not have tried before. Recently I demoed scarlet turnips. I have to admit that scarlet turnips weren’t on my radar before (never mind that I don’t usually volunteer for turnip demos).