I’m Elsie Bendrow, and I cook soup from a homestead kitchen in Montpelier, Vermont, where the stockpot is on more days than it’s off. SimmerStead is where the soups that earn a second bowl end up.
Soup looks forgiving and isn’t. The difference between flat and deep usually comes down to the stock, the order things go in the pot, and how long you let it go. So I make stock from scratch, simmer and taste every soup across more than one batch, and log the aromatics, the simmer times, and the salt levels before anything publishes.
How I cook and test
I tell you when to sweat the aromatics low and slow instead of browning them, because that one choice changes the whole pot. When a soup needs to rest overnight to come together, I say so. When a shortcut stock works in a pinch, I tell you what you give up by using it. The batches that missed are in the notes.
Where my numbers come from
Food-safety guidance and any nutrition claim are checked against established references, and for soups with meat or poultry I give the safe internal temperature rather than a guess. Catch a mistake and email me; I fix it in place and note what changed.
What SimmerStead is not
This is a cooking site, not dietary or medical advice. I can tell you how to build a good pot of soup; I can’t tell you what suits your health. If nutrition matters to a condition you’re managing, talk to a registered dietitian. No sponsored posts dressed up as recipes; any affiliate link to a tool I use is marked.
Get in touch
Reach me through the contact page. I read everything.
Elsie Bendrow, Montpelier, Vermont. Last updated June 2026.