Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Summer Tomato Soup


Not too long ago, before I had four mouths to feed, I would spend hours scouring websites, reading cookbooks and shopping farmers markets for the best and most elaborate menus.  I do hope those days are in my near future again, but for now the food is simple with local seasonal ingredients and kid approved.

Today is a typical San Francisco summer day, cold, foggy with a slight breeze in the air.  I had a ton of tomatoes on hand, some from my own plants and others from my favorite farm, Tomatero near Watsonville, California.

Austin has yet to try and like a raw tomato, but loves any tomato based sauce.  By combining a few ingredients I knew I had a balanced meal filled with vitamins and minerals.  I used some of my homemade chicken bone broth from the freezer.  I make big batches of it about once every 4 - 5 months.  Mineral rich bone broths are used to cure almost everything.  Low in calories, but high in protein, each 1/2 cup serving contains 23 calories, 3 grams of protein and 1 gram of fat.

Here is what you will need:

1 small onion sliced
1 large carrot sliced into coins
3 lbs tomatoes chopped
1/4 cup fresh basil chopped
3 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth
2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
2 tablespoons flour
Pinch baking soda
1 1/2 cups milk (optional)
Salt and freshly milled pepper

Heat the butter or oil in a large soup pot.  Add the onion, carrot, and cook, stirring every few minutes to prevent sticking and burning.  Once the onions are opaque stir in the flour and let cook for 1 - 2 minutes.  Add the tomatoes, baking soda, broth and fresh basil.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer for 20 - 30 minutes until all the vegetables are soft.


Puree soup in batches in a blender or food processor until smooth.  Return the soup to the pot, add milk, reheat, and season with salt and pepper.








YUM! 


5 comments:

  1. I love to know that you cook with such enthusiasm sweet cousin. It reminds me of your mom. I just ran accross her cook book that my dad so meticulously photo copied for all of us kids :) miss you

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thank you Rhea Dawn! So good to hear from you. miss you too. xo

      Delete
  2. Sounds yummy! Going to try this as we have WAY too many tomatoes!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Made this today after coming home from the orchard yesterday with a HUGE bag of tomatoes. Very yummy. G said it made her "happy" as she giggled after the first bite. Thanks for sharing :-) - Daniela

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad she liked it, I made it again last night and all were happy

      Delete