Yet. But that’s only because the soup in question is much, much better on day two, so I intentionally made it tonight to eat tomorrow. This was originally given to my by a (now) ex, and the recipe was from the Kraft Kitchens. As such it used brand names and stuff, which I’ve ditched. I’ve also changed quantities, so while it came from Kraft, it’s certainly no Kraft recipe no more.

I hadn’t made this soup in ages; you know how there’s one of those recipes you make a lot, and then suddenly you realize you haven’t made it in ages? You didn’t get sick of it, it just slipped by the wayside. I went through a period of making meringues like that; I did it constantly in my apartment in Etobicoke, and don’t actually think I’ve made them since. Which is a shame, as I like meringues.

Anyway, as I was at the Perfect Pantry, I saw a recipe for a Squash and Peanut soup, and it reminded me of this soup I used to make years ago. I had to hunt for the recipe, but there’s now a big batch of it on my stove waiting for the spices to turn from being individual spices to being a grand design. It is very yummy, and vegan, and filling like you wouldn’t believe. It’s also obviously not to be made anywhere near one of those poor people with peanut allergies (I am very lucky that all my ‘I don’t eat that.’ issues are a choice).

Moroccan Peanut and Tomato Soup

1 large onion, finely chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp olive oil
1 28oz/796mL can finely diced tomatoes
1.5 cups peanut butter
1/4 cup *each* ketchup and vinegar
2 tbsp. chili powder
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp black pepper
hot pepper sauce (start with a tsp, then taste, add more as needed)
2 cups water

• In large heavy saucepan, cook onion and garlic in olive oil until tender.
• Add remaining ingredients except water.
• Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
• Add water, stir, simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Btw, you can use tomato paste instead of ketchup, if you use a peanut butter with some sugar (I use a butter with nothing but nuts and salt). Or you could use paste and pb, and add your own sugar, but I have found that without the very small amount of sugar (this makes about 8 cups of soup, so that ketchup is spread out quite a lot), the flavours do seem a little less full.

Also, since I had them, and they’re regional the the area the food is from, I used Grains of Paradise instead of black pepper. They’re similar in nature, and I am finding a subtle difference to the taste of the soup. It hangs together differently, but it’s very effective. Grains of Paradise are expensive, though, so don’t bother with them just for this. Pepper will do you fine until you know if you like it and want to explore more West African flavours.

I just spent a good half hour over at a blog called ‘The Perfect Pantry‘. The description is simple: ‘What a food writer keeps in her fridge, freezer and cupboards.’ It’s filled with interesting glimpses into her pantry, augmented by photos sent in of other people’s pantries, and it makes for interesting reading. Lydia Walshin, the site’s author, writes cleanly, and includes a lot of information; some of it’s new to me, some well known, but much like people don’t mind that every time he does it Alton Brown has to explain the muffin method, the writing is entertaining enough that even if you ‘knew that’, it doesn’t bore.

Also, it really is fun to peek at the cupboards of others. You know you do it in real life when you have a chance, so why not do it with permission?

My mother tried the recipe for tortilla ‘croutons’ vaguely as I explained it, but she left out the oil and butter/margarine (never mind the ones she first had were fried), because they aren’t healthy or something, and baked it instead of broiling it, because she’s deathly afraid of the temps you broil stuff at (…never mind the ones she first had were fried).

So tomorrow I need to give the recipe a try and see if it actually works if done the way I said to, so I can assure her that I’m not just making things up.

I have known, intellectually,that Gourmet Magazine had posted much of their old content from the last 50 years. I just hadn’t bothered to look at them (I’ll look at them sometime. Sure.). Sometime was about 3 hours ago, and since then, I’ve been just eating up dozens of ‘Primer for Gourmets’, a column from the 50s by Louis Diat. It started simply enough; I was reading Anthony Bourdain’s The Nasty Bits for a little night time reading; the collection of columns and essays makes a handy bedside book, since it’s all short. Bourdain mentioned potage mongole mentioned as a classic of the French movement of the 40s and 50s. I had a vague idea what it was, and went to look it up. One of the first hits was a 1959 column by Diat on French soups.

The column was concisely and clearly written, and I realized that it was part of the online archives they just posted a month ago. I went and rummaged for more, and suddenly, I’ve read about cooking French puddings and chicken and fish and soups and dozens of other things. I’ve read so much my head is swimming; I need processing time.

But I say unto thee; if you had been putting off rummaging the Gourmet archives, or didn’t know until now, this is a treasure trove of gourmet and gourmand goodness. Just maybe start reading it earlier in the evening.

For the last twenty-five years, my mother has been convinced I can’t cook. Now, I admit, she has excellent reasons for this. I’ve always been…uhm, an adventurous cook, to say the least, and my mother, she…is not. She’s very strictly of the follow the recipe, get predictable results school of cooking, and I admire that. I wasn’t able to follow a recipe until my mid-twenties, and it made for some gods-awful food while I was of an age that I was doing it with ingredients she’d paid for.

But I’ve discovered something. Even if I was still the worst cook in the world (which I am not), there is a magic pass-code to convincing my mother that I might be onto something. That passcode is, “The Food Network has asked me to send them a video.” Even if I had made the most horrid thing possible in the video (I did not; I did a very good sous vide), it would not matter. Teevee might want me, and so I Have Developed Credibility.

So mom mailed me yesterday, because she bought some tortilla strips for salad toppings a few weeks ago (probably Fresh Gourmet or something similar) when they were on sale, but she can’t find them now, and they’re rather pricey, so she decided to ask me about them. This is what she got:

Joan Clarkson wrote:

> I am looking for a recipe to make tortilla chips
>
> a few weeks ago I purchased a small bag of tortilla chips for adding to salads,
>now I cant find them anywhere and they were too much money anyway
>
> they were cut almost like 1 to 2 inch long fettucine shapes and were delicious
>in the salads almost adding a nutty flavour
>
> I cant find a recipe so that I can make them myself
>
> any suggestions?

Buy some plain *wheat* tortilla wrappers. You want the wheat rather than the corn, which won’t crisp unless you fry them or bake them a lot. Then you’ll melt some butter/margarine with a little garlic oil. This will vary by how many you’re making, but for a 12″ tortilla or two 6″ ones, I’d use 2 tablespoons margarine and a teaspoon of oil (it’s for the intensity of the flavour, not as a fat). Cut the tortillas into strips, and toss them in the garlicked butter until well coated, then put them on a pan, and sprinkle them with powdered garlic, onion powder, paprika, dried parsley, pepper, etc - I don’t know what the seasonings that were on yours, but since it was essentially acting as a crouton, I assume you’re likely looking for a strong flavour; you’ll need to make your own decisions when it tastes right. Then put them under a broiler for about 2 minutes - keep watching ‘em! Take them out as they brown, shake them, and if they’re not quite crisped enough, give them another minute. You’ll want to store them in a paper bag to keep them crisp if there are leftovers.

This might also be really good if, instead of garlic oil, you did one with the margarine, sesame oil, and sprinkled them with garlic powder and sesame seeds, and served on a salad with one of those asian vinaigrettes.

S.

I should probably actually test this sometime, but I figure she’ll tell me if I really screwed up