After Dinner Thoughts

East African Pea Soup - a WINNER!!! We really liked the soup. And, after I used my hand blender it was very much like split pea soup in thickness. There was a slight similarity in taste. With the spices it had a nice "tang" to it. The cinnamon and cloves made it somewhat sweet, without being over sweet. And, the cayenne and other pepper gave it just enough kick. Definitely a keeper. We all liked it. As an aside, I don't know why I haven't used my hand blender before today. I will certainly use it more in the future - what an easy tool! I made the soup up to adding the peas yesterday afternoon because I wanted the flavors to meld together. I am really glad I did that. It not only made today easier, but I do believe it made the soup even better than it would have been. Kind of like chili on day two - always better!

The bread was really good too. I picked up the Companion multigrain rolls at Dierbergs, and I highly recommend it. We warmed the rolls for about 15 minutes in a 350°oven. The result was a nicely warmed roll with a crunchy exterior - not hard - easy to bite, with a soft interior. Yummy.

Mom's chocolate meringue pie was quite good too. It was a bit too rich for me, but that's because I really am not big on dessert. I'm sure Michael will enjoy it tomorrow.

I want to include a word of warning to anyone who uses turmeric. This is the second recipe I have used it in. It really is a great spice! However, be very careful of what you wear when using it. It stains clothes (and plastic utensils) easily. Last time I used it I got some on a white tee shirt. I ended up dieing that shirt to cover the stain. I also used a blue cooking spoon as I was stirring the soup; it is now easy to tell how deep the soup was because it is dark green to halfway up the handle. So, while turmeric is a really good spice it also easily stains stain-able items. Be careful with it.