Soup's ON!!

Ok, I realize it is 100 bazillion degrees outside and no rain in site – at least in the 20141, but even in the dead of summer I find soup to be a very enjoyable meal. Paired with a nice summer salad and a great bread it is a light, but very satisfying dinner.

Our tomato plants are finally giving up some tasty treats – we planted a couple Big Boys and one yellow Grape tomato plant and are very happy with our results. I did pick a few early for fried green tomatoes, but that's a subject for another post for sure.

Our CSA market basket has also been providing a lot of tomato action as well. We've made Gazpacho, Ratatouille and Spaghetti Sauce, so what's next....tomato soup! It is truly a simple 3 step process, not very labor intensive and the end result is just lovely. My recipe feeds 4, so you can double, triple to meet your family's needs.

INGREDIENTS:
8 medium tomatoes (if you have cherry or grape tomatoes you can use about 6 cups)
4 cloves garlic
olive oil
salt/pepper

HOW TO:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Remove the top and bottom of the tomato then squeeze gently to remove some of the seeds. Slice in ¼ inch slices and lay on a cookie sheet. If you are using cherry tomatoes – just wash and put on the cookie sheet whole.
Sprinkle the tomatoes with olive oil and some salt and pepper.
Take each clove of garlic, DO NOT take off the outer casing, just cut a bit off the bottom and throw them into the pan with the tomatoes.
Bake for 30 minutes.

ASSEMBLY:
Remove the pan from the oven and pick out the garlic cloves. Squeeze the softened garlic from its casing and put in blender.
Add all the tomatoes and juice to blender.
PUT THE LID ON THE BLENDER :-)
Puree till smooth.

Using a fine mesh strainer – put the puree through using the back of a ladle and discard any remaining seeds and skins to the trash.
Add additional salt and pepper to taste, blend well and now you have an amazing tomato soup!!!

STORAGE:
I store in an airtight container in the fridge and use within a couple days of making the soup. I have not tried to freeze, but imagine it would do very well – would be great way to have fresh tomato soup in the winter for sure!

ENJOY!!
Cheryl