It became abundantly clear to me in, uh...March, that it was unlikely that I'd be able to complete the Le Creuset 52 Challenge this year, especially considering I was going away for the entire summer. I definitely couldn't bring it to Chile with me; seeing as part of my apartment intruder-attack plan includes flinging Blue at said apartment-intruders head, I'm pretty sure it counts as a weapon of mass destruction (especially if you are a vegetable inside it, badoom ching! It's a good thing I make myself snicker...) As per, I'm off on a tangent, so let us return to our regularly scheduled programming: my new plan is to eventually get to the 52 recipes mark, as originally planned. It may just take two calendar years though. But we'll get there!
In other news, I've been sharing a farm share with the biggest little soccer fans this side of the Charles, the chef and publicity guy behind the fabulous Asphalt Kitchen. Except since I wasn't here, they have been eating drowning in my half of the share for most of the summer. Bean stopped by my first day back in town with a rather large shopping bag quite literally bursting with veggies. It's a little overwhelming. Luckily, the bountiful crop of veggies this time of year have forced me to crack open the cookbooks and start making the recipes I've been earmarking. This week I invited the Asphalt Kitchen over to make Smitten Kitchen's Roasted Eggplant Soup. We more or less followed the recipe, although I added some cayenne, cumin, and corriander to it (as suggested), and did have to substitute rosemary for thyme because I thought I had some and didn't. Oops.
Everyone loved this soup. Everyone but me. Don't get me wrong, I really, really, really liked it. I just found it incredibly bright, as though it needs something to bring it a little more down to earth. Next time I make it (and I will, it is incredibly easy and uses up sooooo many of my farmshare veggies), I plan on trying some of the suggestions in the comments by either adding tahini or paprika. Did anyone who has tried this recipe or some variant find the same? How do you do it differently? Suggestions on how to make it more earthy, por favor!
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| BB: Before Blending |
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| AB: After blending |
Roasted Eggplant Soup
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen, where it was adapted from Bon Appetit
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen, where it was adapted from Bon Appetit
Serves 4
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| Three kinds of cheese, two kinds of tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, green onions, and onions, all from Farmer Dave's farm, are visible in this one picture ! |
