soup

Two *click* two *click* two soups in one. Enhanced unapologetically with Madras curry and cayenne pepper got off to an insanely aromatic start in hot butter, yellow split pea and butternut squash soups combined. Crostini from down there ↓ which was pretty much the point of the whole thing, a magnitude of order beyond Club crackers and so worth the effort.

Color If I were to serve this for a dinner party or lunch, and that's likely, I would leave out any green vegetable at least to the very end to preserve the color of the legume or the gourd. That bright yellow of the split peas and the orange of the butternut squash was very attractive initially, all obscured and muddled by the green vegetables. I would watch it with spices too, careful to pick only those with color that agree, or consider sprinkling them on top of the finished dish, or maybe leave it for guests to sprinkle themselves.

crostini

The crostini is the toasted uninteresting un-aged white bread made earlier. It's not bad, there's just nothing to recommend it, unless you're a fan of plain white bread, even if it is made with milk and egg, and a small amount of whole wheat. The mozzarella is from the last batch made from the non-homogenized milk picked up from Whole Foods. The idea was to see if it melted. It does. The mozzarella is much more dense than any I've ever bought and a little bit crumbly. It's not elastic or rubbery at all and it totally fails as mozzarella when judged on texture. Still, it's the best mozzarella I've ever tasted. No brag, just fact. And that makes it all worth it. Plus, it was fun.

Sprinkled with dry Italian herbs. A drizzle of olive oil would have been a good idea. They're like little Spartan pizzas.