I almost experienced the most embarrassing moment of my culinary life last weekend. I’d gotten together with my dear friend Sonya, a connoisseur of crazy scarves and — lucky for me — cheeseburgers, to plan a cookout extravaganza. The weather has been so nice in Charlotte lately, and we wanted to celebrate.

We piled hamburgers, hot dogs, and cheddarwursts on the grill as our friends started to arrive. That’s when we realized the problem.

One of the gals we invited is a passionate vegetarian, a fact that had somehow completely slipped my mind. As soon as I saw her walking into the backyard with a pitcher of iced tea to share, I remembered her dietary restrictions like being hit with a freight train.

You’re probably thinking this was not a big deal. She can just eat side dishes, right? She can have dessert, right? WRONG. We didn’t have a single vegetarian option. The potato salad had sausage in it. The macaroni and cheese was made with chicken broth. The cupcakes were flippin’ maple bacon cupcakes! DRAT.

I panicked. At first I piled some lettuce, tomatoes, and onions on a plate to make a salad of sorts. That seemed insulting, though, and I knew I had to whip her up a more impressive vegetarian entrée. I scurried into the kitchen as Sonya sipped some lemonade and chatted to keep everyone occupied.

That’s when this masterpiece occurred to me. It’s the perfect vegetarian option at a cookout, because it tastes like a burger-free burger. It’s Cream of Ketchup and Mustard Soup! The ketchup is bright but undercut by the tang of the sultry mustard. Just a smidge of pepper for bite, and this soup was a carnival of creamy condiment deliciousness.

Our vegetarian friend raved with every sip, and asked for the recipe before she left. What a sweet success! I hope you’ll try it for yourself and enjoy.

Cream of Ketchup and Mustard Soup*


Recipe by: Willow Bird Baking
Yields: 2 servings

Ingredients:
1 cup ketchup
1 cup yellow mustard
1/2 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste
sour cream for serving (optional)

Directions:

Mix ingredients together over medium-high heat. Simmer for 10 minutes before separating soup into two soup bowls, topping with sour cream, and serving.

*April Fool’s! I did not hold a cookout, the weather has been cold and rainy in Charlotte, I do not own a grill, I did not make this soup, I definitely did not ingest this soup, and I don’t even know anyone named Sonya (unfortunately — what a fun name).

This soup is probably gross, so for Heaven’s sake, please don’t serve it to your vegetarian friends as a meat alternative at a cookout. Unless you don’t want to have any more vegetarian friends, that is.


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by | 53 Comments

53 Comments on Cream of Ketchup and Mustard Soup

  2. karen d
    April 1, 2011 at 5:39 pm (14 years ago)

    Oh, you got me!!! 🙂

    Reply
  3. Michelle
    April 1, 2011 at 6:08 pm (14 years ago)

    you got me too! I’m pathetic, I’ve been reading april fool’s things all day and I still believe them!

    Reply
  4. Vivian (AKA Mom)
    April 1, 2011 at 6:23 pm (14 years ago)

    Got me, too, and I was thinking, “YUCK!!”

    Reply
  5. ashley
    April 1, 2011 at 7:22 pm (14 years ago)

    wow! I was really trying to figure out how that could taste good until i saw the april fools.

    Reply
    • Julie @ Willow Bird Baking
      April 1, 2011 at 7:26 pm (14 years ago)

      I allllmost wanted to take a bite of the concoction just to see what it was like. ALMOST.

      Reply
  6. Susan C.
    April 1, 2011 at 8:31 pm (14 years ago)

    Even weird pregnancy cravings were not enough to entice me to think this sounded good. So glad to read it’s and April Fool’s joke… 🙂

    Reply
    • Julie @ Willow Bird Baking
      April 1, 2011 at 8:32 pm (14 years ago)

      haha! Let’s hope tomorrow you don’t wake up thinking, “Hmmm, ketchup and mustard . . .” 😉

      Reply
  7. Kaitlin
    April 1, 2011 at 8:45 pm (14 years ago)

    OMG! You got me! This actually sounds really interesting… I’m intrigued!

    Reply
    • Julie @ Willow Bird Baking
      April 1, 2011 at 9:00 pm (14 years ago)

      LOL if you try it, Kaitlin, you have to come back and let us know you lived through it . . . 😉

      Reply
  8. Wolf
    April 1, 2011 at 9:09 pm (14 years ago)

    ROTFL, nicely done.}:P

    Reply
  9. Joanne
    April 1, 2011 at 10:17 pm (14 years ago)

    OMG that story is TOO hysterical. I can totally see your panic! A ton of my friends are vegetarian so I always try to be the one to remember to bring a veg option to social gathering…since I know my carnivorous friends will never remember! This soup really is genius though! I can’t believe you came up with such a masterpiece under pressure.

    Reply
  11. Nicole@HeatOvenTo350
    April 2, 2011 at 2:09 am (14 years ago)

    So funny! I thought, “Can this be real?”
    Thank goodness it wasn’t!

    Reply
  12. Shanghai Teacher
    April 2, 2011 at 2:57 am (14 years ago)

    You got me! I had to come here and see the ingredient list ’cause I just couldn’t believe the name of the soup!

    Reply
  13. Vanessa
    April 2, 2011 at 7:29 am (14 years ago)

    First time commenter here 🙂 Love finding other Charlotte bloggers!! You totally had me going. Then I saw the recipe and was like really?? How can that be good? Touché.

    Reply
  14. Sweet T.
    April 2, 2011 at 8:18 am (14 years ago)

    Through a series of links, I’ve just found your lovely blog. Can’t wait to take your inspiration into my own kitchen..

    Love this “recipe”! The whole time reading the post I kept thinking about the “soup” in the pic “How did she get it so red??” because, having mixed ketchup and mustard together quite often for the purpose of corn dog dunking, I know it never looks *that* pretty.

    Reply
    • Julie @ Willow Bird Baking
      April 3, 2011 at 8:06 pm (14 years ago)

      Welcome, Sweet T! LOL, I’m a little sad that THIS was your first post — do look around a bit so you know I can, ya know, cook things that aren’t repugnant 🙂

      Reply
  15. Maris (In Good Taste)
    April 2, 2011 at 8:49 am (14 years ago)

    LOL!!!! You got me too!!! Hysterical! Best April Fools joke yet!

    Reply
  16. Maggie Williams
    April 2, 2011 at 8:58 am (14 years ago)

    Hilarious!

    Reply
  17. Megan
    April 2, 2011 at 10:30 am (14 years ago)

    I was cringing the whole time… ha ha. Well played!

    Reply
  18. Jessie
    April 2, 2011 at 4:06 pm (14 years ago)

    What if you made this and used it as a “dip” for hamburgers and hotdogs?? Garnish it with relish, maybe? I almost want to try it!

    Reply
  19. Judy
    April 2, 2011 at 6:15 pm (14 years ago)

    I’m sure glad it was a joke – I was really cringing! I was a little suspicious because I thought you lived in Winston Salem.

    Reply
  20. Connie
    April 2, 2011 at 6:18 pm (14 years ago)

    Julie, this was “laugh out loud” funny! As I finished reading the recipe and directions with a wrinkled nose, I read your disclaimer and truly laughed out loud. Got my chuckle for the day! Thanks for the giggle!

    Reply
  21. Maranda
    April 3, 2011 at 12:21 pm (14 years ago)

    Hahahaha!!! I was thinking “Julie, I love you. But…ummm…no.” LOL!

    Reply
  22. Barbara Bakes
    April 4, 2011 at 3:31 pm (14 years ago)

    So glad to read this was a joke. You had me worried!

    Reply
  23. Mary
    April 4, 2011 at 7:54 pm (14 years ago)

    This was great fun and your set-up was perfect. I’ll smile for the rest of the evening. This is my first real visit to your site and I decided to browse through your earlier entries. I’m so glad I did. I really like the food and recipes you feature here and I’ll definitely be back. I hope you have a great evening. Blessings…Mary

    Reply
    • Julie @ Willow Bird Baking
      April 4, 2011 at 8:52 pm (14 years ago)

      Aw, thank you Mary! SO glad you saw other recipes besides just this one, or you may not have come back. HA! 🙂

      Reply
  24. sayre
    April 4, 2011 at 9:11 pm (14 years ago)

    Definitely fooled me! The photos are great!

    Reply
  25. ovenhaven
    April 5, 2011 at 2:36 am (14 years ago)

    Oh man, can’t believe I fell for it!! Good one, Julie 🙂

    Reply
  26. Sophia Spach
    April 5, 2011 at 5:26 pm (14 years ago)

    So, I definitely thought this was real until just now. Haha wow. But this is awesome!!

    Reply
  27. natalie (the sweets life)
    April 6, 2011 at 10:43 am (14 years ago)

    I’m reading this a few days too late…and you totally had me there for a second 😉

    Reply

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