Red Thai Coconut Soup & Semi-Dried Tomatoes

Red Thai Coconut Soup pg. 129
Semi-Dried Tomatoes pg. 213

Today I made one of the recipes that had me scared from the time I saw it.  It has a weird ingredient in it, as well as it is served cold.  One of my biggest pet peeves in a recipe is when you have to search high and low for some strange ingredient.  Have you ever heard of kaffir lime leaves?  Me either!

I went to Whole Foods and asked the produce guy if they ever get them in? He practically laughed at me.  He even said maybe just go to a nursery and pick some leaves off a tree. Turns out my husband found them at a little Indian grocery store about 15 minutes from our house.  The soup calls for the tiniest bit of this leaf, and really I am not sure it makes that much difference?  The soup itself was flavorful, but I don't think I would make it again.  I am not really into cold soups.  I think if I was served a little cup  at a restaurant I would have liked it.  Maybe if you are serving it as a small starter, but I wouldn't want a big bowl.  That is just me though, so here are the ingredients in case you are feeling adventurous.

I have a little game for you.  Can you find the ingredient that should not be in this picture?  I made a boo boo when I pulled out what I needed.  Answer at the end of the post!  I know exciting stuff here! Do you get a prize you ask?  Hmmmm, no but I will tell you how smart and amazing you are:)

Next up is Semi-Dried Tomatoes.  These were a cinch to make, and the finished product was really pretty.

 Just a few spices and these tomatoes come alive.  I loved the fennel. Here are the ingredients.

The prep is interesting because you have to make slits in the bottom of the tomatoes as you prepare to get the skin off them.

When I first tried these I kinda thought, just good, but then I put them in my arugula salad and thought they were great!

The tomatoes just break open and really become the dressing on the salad.  All the herbs are so delish on the arugula.  I added some lemon juice and olive oil to the salad.  I would probably just take the stems off if I wasn't worried about presentation.

So did you find the ingredient that shouldn't be in the picture? Answer: Shallots (The recipe called for an option of scallions.)

You are so smart and amazing!!