Music and More (MToaS 42)

I love the opportunities for discovering music online. I've been a huge fan of Pandora for a while, and am getting to know Last.fm thanks to the MToaS prompting. There are some things I really like about both programs.

Pandora is great about bringing forward artists who have not found wide release, and I find the program easier and more intuitive than last.fm. However, Pandora playlists have a tendency to "bleed" into each other. I have very eclectic music tastes, but that doesn't mean I like to listen to everything all together. I like Counting Crows and Katie Melua equally, but I don't want them playing one after the other. 

A couple of days' sampling suggests that last.fm does a better job of keeping distinct voices separate.

By the same token, Pandora seems to recommend based on the sound of a piece much more than the genre that the artist is identified with. Last.fm seems to group more by genre. I guess it depends on which way of grouping a listener prefers.

What I love about both is the ability to discover new artists, voices, sounds. I've discovered lots of great songs through Pandora. I expect I will with last.fm. 

I do really like that last.fm gives me information like artist bio, tour dates, etc., and that I can play an artist's song on demand.

As for Internet radio, I love it, and have enjoyed it for a while. I really like WFUV out of New York and Live Ireland out of Dublin. Both have great songlists. My favorite source for finding new Internet radio stations is actually the easiest: iTunes. It's all built right into the iMac system and couldn't be easier (same is true for subscribing to podcasts, another thing I love about iTunes).

Little sweet things

So, going with a little less gravitas today...

I have two discoveries to share with you my friends and readers. The first is a musician who I just discovered thanks to Pandora, Playlist, and our always-sensational Great River music collection. Vienna Teng is a brilliantly talented musician with a gorgeous voice and phenonmenal talent on the piano.

Go check out Teng's "Lullaby for a Stormy Night". I'm sure you'll like it.

My second great discovery was a little cookbook I found on clearance at Barnes and Noble. The Daily Soup Cookbook is divided by primary soup ingredient (tomato, rice, corn, nut, bean, etc.) and peppered with fun bits of trivia and whimsy. These include music to play while cooking soup, periodic table of the soups and letters sent to staff at The Daily Soup. The recipes look healthy, yummy and full of fresh vegetables, herbs and spices.

The Daily Soup Cookbook is where I found a recipe for the latest version of seriously tasty Mulligatawny soup to be added to my favorites file. Mulligatawny soup is an anglicized version of the Indian tamil, or pepper broth. It is described by FoodReference.com as

"a rich curried soup originally made with peppers, hence the name. It has changed to suit differing tastes in Western culture, and has gone through many variations at various times and places. It is usually based on a chicken stock (also mutton or vegetable stock) and curry, with cream , pieces of chicken, onion, celery, apples and almonds and garnished with rice. The cream was very likely, originally coconut milk."

I've seen mulligatawnies with apples and/or cream ~ or neither. Different kinds of curry powders are used for various versions. Some are vegetarian and some emphatically not. This one has garam masala, almonds and saffron, a combination that is always sure to get my attention. I adore saffron. Just a few threads into a big pot of broth and potatoes and the flavor is sweet, deeply nuanced and absolutely lovely.

The Daily Soup Mulligatawny

The original recipe is vegetarian but I used chicken broth and added about 3 cups of chunked, roasted chicken. Also, because I used boxed chicken broth I did not add any extra salt.

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons peanut oil
1 large Spanish onion, chopped
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons garam masala
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes, drained and diced
6 cups vegetable stock
6 medium Idaho potatoes, peeled, halved lengthwise, and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup sliced almonds, lightly toasted
15 saffron threads
1/2 cup chopped scallions

1. Puree the ginger and garlic together in a blender or food processor.
2. Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the onion and ginger puree and saute for 4 minutes, until tender and golden brown.
3. Add the sugar, garam masala, coriander, salt, turmeric, and cayenne and stir to coat the vegetables. Saute for 2 minutes to cook the spices.
4. Add the tomatoes and simmer for 5 minutes.
5. Add the stock and potatoes and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, partially cover, and simmer for 20 minutes, until the potatoes are tender.
6. Meanwhile, combine the heavy cream, half of the almonds, and the saffron in a small saucepan over medium heat. Simmer until the liquid is reduced by half.
7. Puree the almond and cream mixture in a blender until smooth.
8. Stir the almond cream into the soup and simmer for 2 minutes.
9. Stir in 1/4 cup of the remaining almonds.
10. To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and top with the remaining 1/4 cup of almonds and chopped scallions.