mulligatawny soup

when i was in high school, my guy friends were really into words. we traveled a lot by bus back then, and our waiting time at the stop provided ample opportunity to riff. "this really is an antiquated means of transportation..." one would say. [thoughtful pause among the four] "primordial", another would contribute. "antidiluvian." yes, they agreed. it was antidiluvian.

and so they would continue until a new synonomous challenge presented itself.

i never got into words as much as they were, and whether or not buses are truly antidiluvian, i still do not know. but one bit of vocabulary that i will always remember from those days is "procrustean". "procrustean" is a word Sam used to describe something "producing or designed to produce strict conformity by ruthless or arbitrary means".

but i heard "procrustean" as something "with the potential to taste really bad". "crust" conjured up the thought of bread. "pro", well that was obviously the latin root for "before". and "-ean"? that made me think of pre-historic eras, like the archaen period. bread before the archaen period? that couldn't be good.

anyway, it occurred to me a few days ago that words have a lot to do with our experience of food. "i'm on a quest for garlic," i informed my friend John over the phone. "what are you making?" he asked. "mulligatawny soup." i relished in saying it. "moo-lee-gah-TAH-ny? mulli-GA-tanee? i'm not sure."

"hmm..." he said. "you know what soup i like? bouillabaisse. BOO-yah-basss."

"ooh. that's a good one." actually, i had never tried bouillabaisse before. but just hearing the name made it sound damn good.

there are a lot of things i like to eat because i like the way they sound. think greens. radicchio. endive. mache. [who is the marketing genius behind all of these?]

anyway, my mulligatawny delivered on its promise. mulligatawny means "pepper water" in Tamil, a language used in southern India. i added apples, tomatoes, onions, ginger (lots, finely minced), and coconut milk. i have become a huge fan of chicken thighs (i swear i will never go back to chicken breast, ever). the spice came from the last little packet i had left from my visit to the veggie food festival with tim and juliana last year. i need to get my hands on more curry. if anyone has any suggestions...please help.