What I Have Learned: Tomato Soup

 I made tomato soup again. And, it didn't taste like my first pot of tomato soup.

Let me explain a little more. First and foremost this blog exists for me to share my cheapskate expertise, especially when it comes to food. As I become more serious about creating my own recipes or putting my own stamp on other cooks' recipes, I find there are a lot of surprises to creative cooking. Sometimes these surprises are fantastic and other times, a let down. In the beginning of the blog, if I didn't share my mistakes, I wouldn't have anything to share. As I now have greater command of the kitchen and ingredients, sharing mistakes has turned from digital filler to serious reflection of what transforms a meal from okay to great and how my choices as a cook affect the outcome.

Take Pappa al Pomodoro for example. The first time I made this meal, my world was rocked. I used my basic recipe to make tomato soup. Good but not great.

What did I do differently?

• The ratio of fresh tomatoes to canned tomatoes was different. There was a great deal on roma tomatoes so I went heavy on the fresh tomatoes. I don't often cook with fresh tomatoes. Do I need to learn more about how to balance the acidity in fresh tomatoes?
• I roasted the tomatoes and red pepper like I did the first time around. They didn't get as charred as the first batch. Does the char really make that much of a difference? I thought I followed the same directions as before. Why didn't these get the same char?
• I didn't blend bread into the soup. Does the bread balance the acidity of the tomatoes?

Help, please!!!!