What a day….
As I type this, I am in a tent with my five and two year-old. The breeze is blowing and there is a promise of rain in the air. Normally I’d not be doing a rain dance while camping outside, however given the recent weather patterns and their effect on the soil, I say “LET IT RAIN DOWN ON ME!!!”
This morning we woke up under a clear blue sky, after a good night’s sleep under the stars with the rain fly off. We are camping as part of a mission trip with our church and are set up quite close to home which is wonderful! We woke up early and went home for a quick shower, then off to morning Karate classes. We stopped back home for a quick lunch, and as I searched my mind for what to make, I was most grateful to remember these red beauties on the table.
The boys were craving grilled cheese, and so it was on!
I melted some Amish Roll butter into my pot and on the griddle. I diced up one of my smaller the remaining storage onions, and minced a clove of garlic and tossed both in the pan. After browning, I put in a one cup brick of homemade veggie broth from the freezer. As it melted, I added a cup of heavy cream. Things bubbled gently as I diced up my tomatoes (I believe I used 8). One bay leaf went in along with about 1/2 tsp of salt. As the creamy bubbly goodness began to reduce and get thicker, I added in the tomatoes for the last few bubbly minutes.
I strained the mixture through a sieve and really squeezed the tomatoes to get as much of the juice as I could without the pulp and seeds (though I snacked on some of those, washing off the cream of what remained before composting.
This was yummy and fun for the kids to dunk their sandwiches in, well, for my two year-old, anyway. My older one wasn’t as interested today. He was holding out for the birthday cake at his best friend’s post lunchtime party. After the party, which was a boatload of fun, the boys went swimming back at the campsite, and even saved some energy to clear some sticks off of the hiking trails. I can’t believe these kids made it through this day with smiles on their faces. I attribute it to a locavores diet filled with vitamins and nutrients. Thank you, Springdell!
Quickly back to the soup before we nod off. This soup would also be good with some fresh basil. If I was in heart-healthy mode, I might forego the cream and instead make a roux with the milk and flour. Lots of variations, and all delicious when starting with fresh local ingredients.
Do you have a tomato soup recipe that you enjoy? Do you have thoughts about how you might adapt this recipe? If so, as always, please share with us, we’d love to hear about it! Sweet dreams, my Fellow Springdellians!