Cuisinart and me

My new Cuisinart blender got its first workout last evening, providing the purée for a red-pepper soup for dinner. Subtly delicious, if I do say so myself.

The temptation in the latter stages of cooking was to over-season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, because it tasted bland. I added a little salt and pepper, but no more. Good thing, because the subtle taste built itself up by the spoonful to a most pleasant fullness of flavor.

The key, I believe, was buying fresh red peppers and roasting, peeling and seeding them myself rather than what so many recipes call for: buying roasted peppers in a jar. Doing it from scratch, although it is a bit of labor, allows the peppers to retain a subtle smokiness from roasting. That is lost when the peppers are stuck in liquid in a jar.

An example of why cooking from scratch with fresh ingredients is the only way to go.

Back in the kitchen

Having passed the culinary school entrance exam, I can turn my attention to matters of greater import: What's on the menu today?

The farmers' market provided a blessing of bell peppers, including some little purple beauties, so I'll make a roasted red-pepper soup and use the purples as garnish.

But first, the stock: leeks, carrots, celery, onion, a branch of thyme.

Stop by later to see how it turned out.