Magic Soup Essay Winners - Part 3

Here's an essay from Rosie, our youngest winner. Rosie is holding a picture she drew to go along with her essay. Here's what she wrote:

If I could make magical soup, I would call it "Garden Soup". And I would put in rose petals, and daisies. I would put in honey that bees made, and I would put in fairy dust. I would also put in mint leaves that I picked from my garden. And I would cook it in a pot made of tree wood. I would cook it by the fairy tree, where all the fairies lived. I would serve it in cups made out of lily flower petals, with tiny spoons made out of flower stems. And I would serve it on the top of the mountain in a big tree, where fairies have tea parties. The spoons and bowls are so tiny that I couldn't use them so I decided to give them to fairies. They had rose petal wings and had tiny purple flowers for crowns, and they used mini daisies for wands. Then I would fill their bowls of soup and all the fairies would take a sip of it and each one of the fairies said it was the best soup they had ever tasted! The End!

Rosie, 8 from Utah

Magic Soup Essay Winners - Part 2

Here's another winning essay from Carly in California:

I'm standing at the base of a massive oak tree; in its sturdy branches there sits a beautiful old tree house. This is where I'll cook my magical soup. The twisting staircase teeters as I climb up into the homey tree bungalow. I survey my kitchen space. It's a big kitchen with everything needed to make magic. I start boiling the vegetable stock; animals from all around come and sit on the beams of the house, watching me curiously. My close friend comes to help me; we throw into the pot of bubbling broth: kidney beans, spinach, salt, pepper, noodles, tomatoes, basil, thyme, and sizzling turkey bacon. We dip our heads over the soup and breathe in the savory scents. It smells delicious! But we forgot something! Love, gratitude, laughter, kindness, happiness and the most special ingredient...an secret spice that will wipe all your worries away! After we add the special ingredient, a new kind of smell comes over the whole tree house. Do you know what it is? All the feelings that we added are mixing together, blending into the soup. I look at my friend-we know that it's the best batch of magical soup we've ever made.

Magic Soup Essay Contest Winners - Part 1

The judges have decided! And we have the winners of the Magic Soup Essay Contest.

The panel was made up of 3 young people: Belle, Liv and Liv's friend Jasime and 3 adults: Gaylon Emerzian and Heidi Umbhau, our producers and Mark Farne, our Community Outreach Coordinator.

We judged 90% on originality and creativity and only 10% on spelling and grammar. The essays were a variety of funny, witty, and heartfelt. So were real recipes, other were complete fantasy. It was really tough to make a decision because there were so many great entries.

We'll be posting the winners as we receive permission from their parents.

Here's two of the winning essays:

Mine is a real soup I have been making for years now. Mom says it was my Grandmas recipe and I really miss her. Its simple but good and everyone loves it. Just did out Grandmas old kettle, its the only one you can use for this soup. The fill with water and add a bunch of diced potatoes. Boil for a half hour or so while talking to Mom or watching TV. Then add some onions and boil another half hour. Sometimes there are two really good TV shows on. Next add spices but don't really look at what you add. Make sure to talk to other people so you don't really pay attention. Now butter and go for the real stuff. Mom says its too expensive to use everyday but Grandma would roll in her grave if we used the fake stuff for the soup. Next the secrete, add some sour cream and mix to no lumps then fill the pot with milk. You can taste it here but its not done. Last of all mix some flour with some more milk so there are no lumps then add to soup so it gets thicker.Then you get to eat but you have to eat with people you like and tell stories about Grandma. Its the best!

Andrew, 14 from Mississippi

My soup is called "Hot melted pepper jack, cheesy, chili, chicken soup." Here is what is in my soup. I put 2 cups of melted pepper jack cheese, 1 1/2 cup of chili, 1/2 cup of garlic, 12 jelly beans, 1 1/2 cup chicken, 1/2 a box of make your own noodles out of dough, 1 cup hot sauce, and 3 cherry flavored stones. You are probably wondering who I am eating it with, or where that person and I are eating it! Well, I will eat it with whoever is staying here at my house. I will eat it in the sky on a big cloud. I will eat it without my family, they are not famous. My family are people I love. I would also serve it on the Eiffel tower, it is a famous building. It would be in a familiar place that I wish to go to soon. My magic "Hot melted pepper jack, cheesy, chili, chicken soup" would give special powers, it would make you fly. We would fly over the city after we eat the soup.

Larry, 12 from Mississippi

Congratulations to all the winners! Thanks to everyone who participated.

Team Spatulatta