I have a pretty low threshold for what I consider “me, cooking.” Pretty much, if I add Tabasco, I’m cooking.
So, for example, if I made toast, to which I wouldn’t normally add Tabasco, that wouldn’t count as cooking. (Or mebbe, if I added Tabasco to toast, that might count as cooking, but it’d count as bad cooking. I think. I need to try this.)
Similarly, if I made a can of soup, like some Wolfgang Puck’s Thick and Hearty Lentil, and I didn’t add Tabasco (which would be crazy) that also would not be cooking.
But, in contrast, if I made a can of soup, and I chose to add a few drops of Tabasco, in my heart it would feel like I had truly cooked that can of soup. Like the culinary choices (ok, choice) that I’d made had transformed that can of soup into a lentil-laden very personal and real expression of what I consider good eats.
Tonight, the lentil is hearty, yes. Thick too. I credit Wolfgang for this. But it’s also slightly spicy, and I think I’ve made my point.
Make the lentil soup yourself Cecil! Just get your pot out and cook up some onions and garlic (in olive oil) add a box of trader joe’s free range chix broth and the same amount of water. Cover the pot and bring to boil – turn down heat and let er simmer until the lentils are tender (about a half hour to 45 minutes). Cut up some carrots and onions and add em in about half way through (that would be about 15 minutes). Salt er up to taste and add a lil’ Tabasco – now yer cookin’!
If you’re so inclined you can even make the Tabasco: http://tiny.cc/QExwe
Make the lentil soup yourself Cecil! Just get your pot out and cook up some onions and garlic (in olive oil) add a box of trader joe’s free range chix broth and the same amount of water. Cover the pot and bring to boil – turn down heat and let er simmer until the lentils are tender (about a half hour to 45 minutes). Cut up some carrots and onions and add em in about half way through (that would be about 15 minutes). Salt er up to taste and add a lil’ Tabasco – now yer cookin’!
If you’re so inclined you can even make the Tabasco:
http://tiny.cc/QExwe
i’m with kirk. nothing like making your own soup (with kids!). make chilled fruit soup.
now.