"Jude" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Doug Kanter wrote:
>> "Jude" > wrote in message
>> oups.com...
>> > I'm not findinf a lot of inspiration for dinner tonight. I'm in the
>> > mood for a nic thick hot soup, so I'm going to do split pea with
>> > homemade croutons on top. I'm tired of the sup/salad combo; we've had
>> > several big yummy salads this week. What should I serve alongside? (no
>> > mean please) I was thinking of maybe some kind of fruit salad, but of
>> > course bieng winter the options are limited. The apples this week were
>> > all soft and icky, othersie I'd be thinking about Waldorf Salad.
>> >
>> > Maybe some kind of barley pilaf with stock and nuts would go well. Hm
>> > Help me out here!
>> >
>>
>> Waldorf salad sounds all wrong next to that soup anyway. Two round tastes
>> at
>> the same time. Bad. I'd serve something with a little edge to it. Sliced
>> tomatoes with slivers of fresh mozzarella, and a balsamic vinaigrette.
>
> I'm curious....what do you mean by "two round tastes"? I was going for
> the textural contrast, something crunchy alongside the soup.

I've never been able to explain this to anyone, other than to say that I
visualize the shapes of various tastes and smells. Pea soup's round.
Lemonade is edgy. So are tomatoes, usually. Sometimes I think various parts
of a dinner should share some qualities, and sometimes not. Pea soup's got a
pretty powerful flavor and scent. Sort of like a blanket. The scent of
tomatoes and vinegar seems right to me alongside that soup. If you want
crunch on the side, forget the croutons and serve toasted garlic rounds on
the side, made from some sort of excellent bread.


>
> Somehow tomaotoes/basil/balsamic doesn't hit me as the right tastes
> against the soft, smoothness of a pea soup. I want somehting that jumps
> out at you a little more, crunchy, cool or cold, a little sharp. But
> thanks for the idea.
>

Add some thick chunks of red onion with the tomatoes, then.