blog swap

Yesterday I made Orangette's Tamarind Soup with Chickpeas, Chard and Spices for dinner. Dinner was a compromise: I wanted to make something new and brilliantly interesting, and D wanted something comforting that he'd had a thousand times before. The final menu was hamburgers made with ground venison, topped with cheddar cheese and grilled onions on sourdough rolls, and the Tamarind Soup, each of us making our chosen recipe. I changed Orangette's recipe a little, not to be difficult, but because I didn't have quite everything and didn't want to go out (it was snowing): I substituted broccoli for zuccini and kale for chard, and I made a bit less of it because I only had 2 cans of chickpeas.
It turned out very well, although frankly not so glamorous looking as the original. You know how sometimes wonderful tasting food is just kind of brown and mushy looking? This was one of those times. Orangette's picture is much more beautiful, and I recommend you click on the recipe link above and take a look at it.
This soup was also the occasion for the first use of my new immersion blender. I got it for Christmas, but I felt shy about using it, or maybe afraid. I'm not the most technologically minded person in the world. But it worked like a charm, as advertised, without splattering and after only a minimal look at the directions. I'm thinking milkshake next.
PS: the hamburgers were very good, too.