I do the same as you with many vegetables. Olive oil, balsamic, but I often add a few drops of fish sauce. I also quick fry some garlic in the oil. dcarch

It could that it's first pressed unfiltered EVOO. That's what I look as I find the taste to be better. I discovered this when I bought OO from a farm in Italy.

Thank you Lee. I think I put too much of the chili pepper it it...it was rather hot for me. I have the ingredients to make it again so I will see which way I like it best. The lime yogurt really helped to cut the spice. I also want to shave the light version of corn soup. I say light because it's not as heavy as corn chowder. I serve this in the summer at room temperature. It's creamy, cruncy from the corn and bell pepper and spicy sweet. 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 small onion; chopped 3 cups fresh corn (about 6 ears) 4 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste 1/4 cup cream (or half & half or milk) 1 tablespoon yellow cornmeal 1/2 red bell pepper; diced 2 tablespoons fresh, chopped cilantro Pinch of cayenne pepper or Tabasco to taste Lime wedges (to balance the sweetness of the corn) Heat oil in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and a sprinkle of salt and pepper and cook until softened and translucent. Stir in corn and garlic and continue to cook, stirring often until corn begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Add broth and bring mixture to a simmer, for 15 minutes. Taste and add salt and pepper if necessary. Using a slotted spoon, transfer 1 1/2 cups of the corn mixture to a blender. Add cream and 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid. Slightly vent the top of the blender and carefully puree until the mixture is smooth, about 2 minutes. Return the puree to the pan. Whisk in cornmeal and bring the soup to a boil over medium heat while stirring constantly until thickened. Stir in bell pepper, cilantro and cayenne. Serve hot or at room temperature with a squeeze of lime in each bowl to balance the sweetness from the corn. *Original recipe from Eating Well magazine, Fresh Corn Bisque. My changes are as written above Marilyn

All your ideas are very interesting. Wintercat, your eggplant sauce sounds fantastic!! The parsnips with nutmeg and mustard are going on the Thanksgiving menu. Still toe curling good out of the fridge. I put them all out cold for lunch but kept picking at the bowls and had had my fill before I even sat down. :) We were just playing around, but I do think that seasoning--with just herbs and spaces...doesn't have to be salt and pepper--does bring out the flavor of the vegetables. The parsnips--and I was very generous with the nutmeg--taste like a "dish" rather than just parsnips. The others taste exactly like themselves but just a bit moreso, the same way they would if they had exactly the right amount of salt (not enough to taste salty, not so little as to taste flat), and we used about the same amounts as you might of S&P.