Well, I have decided to try and post as many of the recipes that I make on here as possible. That way I can look back as a kind of archive. This weekend I actually haven't made a darned thing as we have been slowly finishing off the soups that are in the fridge. Neither is slated to be a repeater for me, but both were tasty, just not so tasty that I feel compelled to make them again!

One was a WEST AFRICAN PEANUT SOUP (from "Sundays at the Moosewood Restaurant"). I did not have the scallions and chopped peanuts on top and also only made a half batch, which made a great plenty. It was especially good with some whole wheat/grain crackers crumbled on top!

2 cups chopped onion
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp cayenne or other ground chiles
1 tsp grated peeled fresh ginger
1 cup chopped carrots
2 cups chopped sweet potatoes
4 cups vegetable stock or water
2 cups tomato juice
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1 Tbsp sugar
chopped scallions
chopped roasted peanuts
Sauté onion in oil until it is translucent.Stir in cayenne and ginger. Add carrots andsauté a couple minutes more. Mix in potatoesand stock, bring to a boil, simmer 15 minutes(until the vegetables are tender). Puree thevegetables with tomato juice (and some of thecooking liquid if necessary) in a blender orfood processor. Return the puree to the pot.Stir in the peanut butter until smooth. Checksweetness and add sugar if necessary. Reheatgently, using a heat diffuser if necessary toprevent scorching. Add more water, stock, ortomato juice to make a thinner soup ifdesired. Serve topped with plenty of choppedscallions and chopped roasted peanuts.

Here are my "babies" that I am baking for!!! They are 1.5 and 4.5 years old, so some may argue that they are not truly "babies" anymore, but I'll just ignore those of you who say that!!

Trying out this blogging thing......

So I just signed up for a baking challenge of sorts called Daring Bakers http://daringbakersblogroll.blogspot.com/ and it is recommended that you post your reviews of the recipes and photos, so I thought it might be a good time to start a foodie blog! This is a test post to see if it is working.....

In the meantime, I am back to baking.....I am working on my first ever loaf of sourdough bread, courtesy of a starter sent to me. I am trying out a Farmstead recipe from Beth Henspenberger that uses yeast and the starter since the starter is so new. I also have a pan of cauliflower, garlic and onion roasting in the oven with a little olive oil (and I need to sprinkle it with some sea salt) to make a Roasted Cauliflower Soup. Back to the kitchen!

Jessica