Saturday, March 19, 2011

i miss summer.

anyone else get sick of canned soup?
i know that i have a cupboard full... and i have still not used a single one this whole semester.
i mean, they are good in a jam, but really? when you can cook something so much tastier??? why stoop to that level?!
i splurged and bought some real tomatoes from the store the other day, because i was craving tomato soup.
not from a can.
my mom got this recipe from an old lady that came to work last summer, and it very quickly became one of our favorites!
imagine (if you can) a tomato plant that threatens to take over the rest of the garden... and the bushels of tomatoes that we have sitting in the garage for weeks after we harvest them all. [this also means weeks of canning salsa, tomato sauce, spaghetti sauce... and when that's done, guess what?! we get to move on to more canning! goody...]
but seriously.
i am sooooo grateful for that food right now.
because if it wasn't for that, i would be eating ramen.
gross.

so my mom got this recipe, and then after we had made it only once - lost it!
can you believe her???
the nerve!
but my mom is amazing and remembered most of the recipe. so we duplicated it fairly well until she managed to find the recipe. i did finally manage to forgive her. ;)
like i said, this recipe is amazing.
my dad (the i-don't-like-tomatoes-or-any-kind-of-veggie-save-cucumbers guy even liked it. it's the truth!) that's gotta mean somethin big.

tomato basil soup
28-oz can (3 cups) whole tomatoes, drained, reserving liquid
or 3 cups of fresh tomatoes
4 slices bacon, diced
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup (1 medium) finely chopped carrot
3 tablespoons flour or 4 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp white pepper
1 3/4 cups vegetable broth or 14 1/2-oz can less salt chicken broth

finely chop tomatoes; set aside.
in large saucepan, cook bacon until crisp. remove; set aside.
drain bacon drippings, reserving 1 tbsp.
cook onion and carrot in reserved bacon drippings until tender.
stir in flour, paprika and white pepper.
cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.
gradually stir in vegetable broth and reserved tomato liquid.
bring to a boil.
reduce heat; add bacon and tomatoes.
simmer 10 minutes.
(we usually add the bacon last... after we blend the rest of the soup together, with the tomatoes. i like it chunky... but for picky siblings blending usually is the best option...)

basil cream
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh basil or 1 tsp basil leaves
1/3 cup dairy sour cream
in a small bowl, combine basil and sour cream.

"ladle soup into warmed serving bowls. gently spoon 1 heaping tablespoon basil cream into middle of each bowl."
wow... that is a lot more effort than i like to put into any meal! a warmed serving dish? i am lazy! you can go ahead with your cold bowl right here...
5 (1-cup) servings.

try me! (this is the soup speaking...)
you won't be disappointed.


this makes me want summer real bad.
i want to move to a place where i can have a garden alllll the time. no joke.
maybe i'll just make a greenhouse inside my house.
watch it. it's gonna happen!

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yay for a full (and healthy-feeling) tummy!

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