Housekeeping

A few housekeeping things around the Desert Candy abode today: It was only through some nice reader comments that I even knew I was a 'Blog of Note,' and I want to express my sincere gratitude to whoever has been reading along and making note. It's nice to know there's someone out there other than my mother. I want to welcome all the new readers and I hope you'll stick around and keep sharing your brilliant insights and random thoughts, I'm flattered to hear from all of you. Due to the uptick in comments, I had to enable the 'moderate comments' feature in order to prevent spam, but I hope that won't deter anyone from commenting in the future!

I also noticed when I was doing some cleanup in the recipe section that Desert Candy is seriosuly lacking in the soup section. How could this be, since I adore soups and make them often?! I love smooth pureed soups and I usually make them with whatever I have on hand, carrot ginger is a favorite, or a chilled vichyssoise or tomato bisque. Since I wouldn't dare leave you without a recipe, I did a little cleaning of my own, and found this chickpea soup I made back in the winter, topped with cumin oil. This soup is easy as can be (in keeping with today's clean out the pantry theme) and absolutely delicious. And now back to regularly-scheduled programming...

Creamy Chickpea Soup with Cumin Oil
This soup is best when made with fresh-cooked chickpeas, but you can use canned also.

3 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas with their liquid
half a medium onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, smashed
1/2 cup cream or milk, optional

1 teaspoon cumin seeds
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1. Place the chickpeas with some of their liquid in a pot with the onion and garlic. There should be enough liquid to cover the chickpeas, add water or chickpea liquid as necessary. Bring the mixture to a boil and season with salt and pepper. Lower the heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes, replenishing water as necessary.
2. Meanwhile, make the cumin oil. In a dry skillet, lightly toast the cumin seeds until just fragrant. Remove from the heat and grind in a coffee grinder or crush with a mortar and pestle. Heat the olive oil in a skillet until shimmering, add the ground cumin, swirling to combine, and remove from the heat.
3. Puree the chickpea soup in a blender until smooth. Add more water or some vegetable broth to thin the soup to your desired consistency. (If you are really picky, you can also press the soup through a sieve or tamis to ensure it is super-smooth). Stir in the cream, if using. Taste for seasoning, add salt or pepper if needed. Ladle the warm soup into bowls, swirl the cumin oil over top.
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