Chocolate and other food groups

I generally put recipes I enjoyed in here, but I decided to share one I *didn't* like. After all, you readers (all 5 of you! JK, mostly) might like to know about my flops too. So here's one that failed to live up to my expectations and why. Roasted Garlic Soup This one comes from Mark Bittman's huge cookbook, How to Cook Everything . I'm on a mostly soft food diet right now, so soup is my mainstay. But not this one. 4 Tb. olive oil 8 cloves garlic, peeled 1 Tb. ground cumin or paprika or 1 tsp. chili powder (I used cumin) 4 thick slices French or Italian bread 4 c. chicken or beef broth Salt and pepper to taste Place olive oil in large, deep saucepan and turn heat to medium. Add the garlic cloves and cook, stirring and turning occasionally, until they are golden brown. OK, here's my first mistake. I don't keep garlic handy all the time. I buy the prechopped stuff in a jar. The actual cloves tend to sit around too much and when I want them they are all shriveled....

My friend Jodi gave me a big bag of plums from her trees. I finally got around to trying something with them, and this is what I made. I wish I had a picture, but the plums were amazing. Not much to look at on the outside, but wow, deep red rich color inside. Just gorgeous. Plum Coffeecake Crumb Topping 8 medium sized plums, but I needed about 20 small ones 1 c. butter, softened 1 c. sugar 1 1/4 c. flour 2 tsp. baking powder 2 tsp. lemon peel 1/4 tsp. salt 4 eggs heavy cream, optional Prepare Crumb Topping and set aside. Slice plums if large or halve them if small; set aside. Preheat oven to 325. Grease and flour 13x9 pan. In large bowl, beat butter and sugar. Add flour, baking powder, salt, lemon peel, and eggs. Beat until smooth. Spread batter evenly in pan; top with plumbs. Pinch small pieces of crumb topping and sprinkle on top of plums. Bake 50 to 60 minutes or until top is golden and cake tests done. Serve warm with cream. Crumb Topping : In small saucepan, melt 1/2 c. butter. Re...