If you live in a part of the world where you're beginning to feel a nip in the air, soup is in your future. Grocery stores have left us wanting in the soup area as most of them only offer the canned variety. The most robust soups are either fresh or frozen, but never canned.

I enjoy serving soup in ways that expand the experience. One of my favorites is to serve soup in a boule. Boule is actually French for ball, so round balls of bread may be baked with a variety of ingredients and many are available from local bakers. My favorite is tangy simple sourdough. Now be careful because all soups are not adaptable to work with a boule. My favorites are cream of tomato basil for a French flare or hearty gumbo for a Cajun spin.

Cut the top of the boule away just as you would do with a pumpkin at Halloween. Then scoop out the bread and save it for other uses - or share it with your winged friends. Then fill the boule with your favorite soup. There you have it - a complete culinary creation.

GourmetStation's soup collection includes two soup in a boule varieties - Parisian & Cajun - in the event you would like to send these creations for a unique gourmet food gift.