The new Soup Peddler store, which has joined forces with Juicebox for a liquid diet one-two punch, allows you to pick up soup without pre-ordering (if it’s in stock). Otherwise, you need to reserve in advance for a super-convenient delivery to your doorstep. That delivery range is pretty wide, and free with a $15 minimum order—not hard to do considering prices average about $13 per item. But you can feed two and sometimes four people with the amount of food you get, so it’s quite a deal. The sassy website reminds us of the old Austin we love, and it guides you through the process of ordering and figuring out delivery particulars. Everything comes cold (also freezing well) and ready for you to unpack and heat, and perhaps add extra spices or seasoning to your tastes.

Soups change seasonally, and in the cold weather, we have loved us some Polish hunter’s soup, teeming with pork loin, bacon, cabbage, and sauerkraut. Senate bean soup, with the same ham stock, is also wonderful. There are vegetarian and gluten-free soups, as well as non-soup items, like a quiche of the week, great cheese ravioli, tamales, and a huge salad. Even the things that need a little tweaking are, in the end, worth avoiding the grocery store at rush hour, and will spare you the knife-nicks and interminable simmering times that stand between you and dinner.