Wow my list ....is too long
My current reserve list at the library

Seasonings : a year of local flavour in words and recipes DeGrace, Anne Dark diversions : a traveller's tale Saul, John Ralston Big book of slow cooking : 200 fresh, wholesome recipes--ready and waiting Ray, Susan Hernandez Get rich with dividends : a proven system for earning double-digit returns Lichtenfeld, Marc The Taliban don't wave Semrau, Rob Weelicious : 140 fast, fresh, and easy recipes McCord, Catherine My Berlin kitchen : a love story, with recipes Weiss, Luisa This is how you lose her Díaz, Junot A nation worth ranting about Mercer, Rick And I shall have some peace there : trading in the fast lane for my own dirt road Roach, Margaret Paris, I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down Baldwin, Rosecrans Jasmine And Fire Abdelnour, Salma The Age of Doubt : an Inspector Montalbano mystery Camilleri, Andrea  A Good Man : rediscovering my father, Sargent Shriver Shriver, Mark  Paris, My Sweet Thomas, Amy  Barefoot Contessa Foolproof : recipes you can trust Garten, Ina  The Good Nurse : the life and times of Charles Cullen, serial killer Graeber, Charles The Backyard Parables Roach, Margaret  The new Granville Island Market cookbook Glick, Judie Dolci : Italy's sweets Segan, Francine Urban farms Rich, Sarah Grow cook eat  : a food lover's guide to vegetable gardening, including 50 recipes, plus harvesting and storage tips Galloway, Willi The geography of bliss : one grump's search for the happiest places in the world Weiner, Eric The kitchen daughter : a novel McHenry, Jael The tenth muse : my life in food Jones, Judith Atonement McEwan, Ian Culture rebel: because the world has enough desperate housewives Jakab, Connie Apron anxiety : my messy affairs in and out of the kitchen Shelasky, Alyssa Fast flavours : 110 simple speedy recipes Smith, Michael Kitchen Chinese : [a novel about food, family, and finding yourself] Mah, Ann Brewing up a damn good story Minhas, Manji Writer's digest presents writer's workbook Petit, Zachary INSIDE THE OTHER SIDE  : SOUL CONTRACTS, LIFE LESSONS, AND HOW DEAD PEOPLE HELP US, BETWEEN HERE AND HEAVEN Bertoldi, Concetta The truck food cookbook : 150 recipes and ramblings from America's best restaurants on wheels Edge, John T Great gluten-free vegan eats  : cut out the gluten and enjoy an even healthier vegan diet with recipes for fabulous, allergy-free fare Kramer, Allyson The homemade pantry Chernila, Alana The book of kale : the easy-to-grow superfood Hanna, Sharon Eat to live : the amazing nutrient-rich program for fast and sustained weight loss Fuhrman, Joe Beautiful ruins : a novel Walter, Jess The naptime chef : fitting great food into family life Banfield, Kelsey. No Easy Day Owen, Mark Into The Fire Meyer, Dakota  I heart London  Kelk, Lindsey Masala Farm : stories and recipes from an uncommon life in the country Saran, Suvir Miss Dreamsville and the Collier County Women's Literary Society : a novel Hearth, Amy Hill Daniel fights a hurricane : a novel Jones, Shane Sleeping funny : stories Hill, Mirand A rich spot of earth : Thomas Jefferson's revolutionary garden at Monticello Hatch, Peter J The cookbook library : four centuries of the cooks, writers, and recipes that made the modern cookbook Willan, Anne Black dahlia & white rose : [stories] Oates, Joyce Carol Hunter's way Hill, Gerri MARIE CURIE and Her DAUGHTERS : THE PRIVATE LIVES OF SCIENCE'S FIRST FAMILY Emling, Shelley Revenge of the Vinyl Cafe McLean, Stuart

Roasted Tomato Soup

On Thursday I met my daughter for lunch and the beer (grapefruit beer) was good, the salad was greek, the steak sandwich (hers) was too rare (in light of the ecoli meat packer plant shut down---should have been returned), the lobster roll was soggy and had no flavor....but the soup was to die for.

Its Sunday and it's all I can do not to think about that soup.  And I rarely order the soup, I don't know why I did this time, but it was soooo good.   I'm thinking of phoneing them to get the recipe or if nothing else just the ingredient list.  I tried.....but failed to duplicate it

I roasted two batches of seeded mixed heirloom tomatoes, the second batch almost burned but it was roasted nicer than the first batch.  After putting both batches through a food mill.

I tasted it...too sweat for my liking so I added about a tsp apple cider vinegar.  I don't know why, but that's the first thing I saw when I opened the cupboard ( (already added some balsamic between the milling of both batches.) I also stuck a few basil leaves between the tomatoes in the second batch.
I added a shot of cumin and corriander, again....cause I spotted it when I opened the cupboard.  And also I just spent about $50 refreshing my spices, so I figured why not. (just as I'm sitting here writing this, I'm thinking maybe I should add a pinch of curry paste)

But nothing was really improving it..I should add, that I also added about 3/4 of a carton of veg stock cause it was just too thick, and also somewhere during the whole process I also wizzed it with an imertion blender.

Nothing was really working ....it just didn't taste the same - tooooo tomatoey hmmm.
I was talking with my mother after I finished all the clean up and she suggested some bragg's , but since I don't use the stuff, I added a shot of soya sauce.  That and a shot of lemon juice.
By now I couldn't duplicate what I added to this sorry ass excuse of a soup if I wanted to. I poured it off into a jar and it is currently sitting in the fridge waiting for some intervention.
It's still way too tomatoeyyyy, maybe I will purchase some more veg stock and thin it out.  Maybe I should buy some bragg's

I gave some to my husband for a late dinner and he "raved" about it.  I don't know what's wrong with his taste buds, but clearly something is wrong with him.

I can't remember the name of the restaurant...And since we paid cash there's no record of the name anywhere....

Maybe I will just have to drive down and have another bowl of....

Plum Ketchup

Plum Ketchup

Ingredients:
2 1/2 lb (late) Italian prune plums (about 52 plums), halved
3 cloves garlic, quartered
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
2/3 cup apple cider vinegar
2/3 cup water
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon ground roasted ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon Vietnamese cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Directions:
Prep your jars/lids. Place all ingredients in a heavy-bottomed nonreactive pot (I used my enameled cast iron Dutch oven). Bring to a rolling boil and cook until the plums are soft, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Use an immersion blender or ladle in a regular blender to pulse until smooth. Return to a rolling boil and cook until thickened to ketchup consistency*, about 20 minutes. Ladle into pint jars leaving 1/4 inch headroom. Process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes.

Yield: about 4 8-oz jars

So I woke up this morning...I couldn't get this recipe out of my mind, since seeing it on pinterest.com yesterday.  And I just so happened to have 25 plums sitting in a bag overrippening, not italian plum but - the other variety. So I halfed the recipe

...and since I am dire need of spice shopping, I had to substitute a few things. I just was not in the mood to go to the grocery store today.

I didn't have any ground roasted ginger...so I sub'd fresh ginger
I didn't have any allspice...so I sub'd chinese five spice
I didn't have any cloves...so I sub'd pumpkin pie spice
and I didn't have any cardamom....so I sub'd nutmet, don't ask me why though just threw something in that I had, I figured, what the hell

I ended up with three jars, don't ask me amnt exactly..

I even did the water bath thing, i usually just stick them in the oven for about 15 min @ 250, but I decided maybe I should do the water bath as per the recipe.