Wonderful day!

Sometimes I stray from a recipe when I'm cooking. Now, baking, not so much if at all but cooking is another story. You've heard the saying...you bake with your head and cook with your heart, yada yada.  That's how things went down for the peanut soup. I knew I did not want meat for this soup because I have vegetarian friends and really, this soup was great with no meat. When I make it again for my family, I will not add meat....that is how much I like it.

Ingredient List:

1 chopped onion

4 cloves minced garlic

1 glob tomato paste (sorry)

Fresh ginger, peeled and grated (about 1 inch piece)

3/4 cup natural peanut butter

Vegetable stock (about 4 cups)

Toppers: chopped cilantro, chopped peanuts, chopped green onion

S &P, a little water, and olive oil

Hot sauce. taste (I used Sriracha)

• Preheat your favorite soup pot, add some olive oil
• Soften onion, ginger, and garlic (add garlic 2-3 minutes onion and ginger)
• Season with S & P
• Stir in a glob of tomato paste...add another blob if you really like tomato paste. Stir...thin this with a bit of water if necessary
• Add stock and bring to a simmer
• In a small bowl, combine 1-2 cups of the hot stock to the peanut butter; whisk until smooth and creamy, then add to the pot. Taste and adjust seasonings. Add hot sauce to suit your taste. Too thick? Add more water (adjust seasonings) or stock.
• Serve with the chopped peanuts, cilantro, and green onion (highly recommend the cilantro!) 

I like to play around with new ingredients before using them in a Book & Bake session. For pap, I first had to figure out what it was and how I would find it. Turns out, it is just corn and I stumbled across it while on one of my many pilgrimages to Saraga International Market here in Indy. You've heard of polenta, right? Well, the pap I found is a much finer grind and results in a super creamy concoction that is basically ready to take on any flavor you desire, more or less.

My first attempt, I thought I'd be so clever and use chicken bone broth in place of the water. I'd planned to allow the pap to set in a jelly roll pan, then slice it into squares and top it with a variety of things...appetizer style. Well that was a learning experience, let me tell ya. In a word: bleh. It just did not work for me. First, the pap did not set up like I'd hoped but really, I did not like the flavor - I tossed it.   Attempt number two was inspired by the porridge I used to eat for breakfast in Jamaica. Something clicked (ah-ha!) in my brain and sure enough, that worked well.  Here is how it went down:

Ingredient List:

1/2 cup pap

1/2 cup cold water

1 and 1/2 cup boiling water

1/2 sugar* (or to taste)

Dried montmorency cherries (big 'ol handful)

Flavoring options: speculaas spice (cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, white pepper, anise, ginger, and cardamom), chai spice, cinnamon, etc.

• Bring 1 1/2 cup of water to boil on the stove
• While waiting for water to boil, combine pap and cold water - whisk to combine
• Dissolve the sugar in the hot water...once water boils, add the cold water/pap combination to the hot, whisking as you do.
• Within seconds, you will see the pap thicken - careful, just like polenta, it is molten lava hot and will burn like the dickens if it bubbles up on your hands. Trust me on this.
• Add the cherries and seasonings of choice...continue whisking.
• Serve it up

*Use brown sugar if you prefer. For my second batch I just used brown sugar and good 'ol cinnamon (along with the cherries) and loved it!