16 January 2008 correspondence with our readers about our version of Heidi Swanson's big curry noodle pot

Robbin:

I would be very sad to get this soup without the peanuts. ⅔ cup is a lot of peanuts and it would really change the dish.

m-c:

We're not trying to develop the perfect recipe. We're changing recipes to fit circumstances, and one important circumstance is being just too tired and busy and frantic to go to the store. Yes, the noodle pot tastes less amazing without the peanuts, but hey, get over it, if you want to go to the store, you can, we're staying at home.

This probably needs explaining over and over.

These aren't recipe "make-overs," that favorite genre of the food magazines. They're something else.

We're trying to encourage people to go ahead and cook, get in there and chop something, even if what they make is imperfect and lumpy and missing the freshly ground black pepper because they've run out.

Many people we know have such high performance anxiety about cooking that they don't cook. And they're never going to learn to cook if they don't cook.

We're not saying everybody should cook. If they don't want to cook, don't cook. But if they do want to, they shouldn't hesitate because of some impossible ideal of the perfect recipe, the perfect dish, the perfect meal.

Margaret and I both have reputations as pretty good cooks. But, you know, I burn things, she forgets steps, we both make appalling decisions, and it's OK. It's just dinner. We'll live to cook another day.

I think -- I hope -- that what we bring to the party is that we're both easy in the kitchen. That's what we want to communicate to our readers. Ease up. Don't be so hard on yourself. Just slice something, pan-fry something, put something in the oven, take a deep breath, have a little fun with it.

We're not saying our recipes are better than their original authors' versions. On the contrary, sometimes they're obviously inferior in one way or another. But we made them our way and lived to tell the tale.

Robbin:

But sometimes you say your version is tastier.

mb:

Tastier to us. Obviously the original author didn't think our version was tastier or she would have made it our way.

m-c:

When I made the curry noodle pot I agreed with you, that I wanted those toppings, so I made the toppings. On the other hand, heeding Margaret's warning about the health risks of using so much coconut milk, I tried making my version with about a quarter the amount of coconut milk. And, you know what? I think that was a mistake. Better to have the full-coconut version twice a year than the mingy-coconut version once a week.

(But I thought Margaret's cauliflower was brilliant, and I would always make it that way.)

mb:

And after all, we told you about the peanuts -- it's not as though we kept them a secret.

Karen:

I'm not a vegetarian, but putting meat in a vegetarian recipe is an insult.

mb:

Golly, no insult was intended. I hope Heidi wouldn't think we're doing anything to belittle her ideas.

m-c:

I guess we might feel differently about adding meat to a recipe by somebody who's a vegetarian solely for ethical reasons. Heidi undoubtedly has ethical concerns that inform her food choices, but the case she makes in her book is that making positive choices -- eating lots of interesting grains, cooking by color -- is good nutrition and well-being for everybody, not just for vegetarians.

Jim:

I would have used chicken thighs if I'd used chicken at all. Most chicken breasts taste like nothing. Perhaps you've found a special supply?

mb:

Oh, you're just like my mom. There are very few foods in the world that she doesn't like, and chicken breasts are at the top of the list.

To tell the truth, the reason I use chicken breasts is that they're cheap to buy in bulk.

m-c:

I went the tofu route in my version, but I agree with Jim, if there is to be chicken, I want thighs.

Brining a whole chicken before roasting it does tend to make the breast less tasteless. I wonder whether brining just the breast would work.

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