happy harvesting and a recipe

When spring finally rolls around after a long Wisconsin winter, I always feel I will never, ever get enough of it. And then when the green lushness and abundance of summer arrives, and the nights are long and warm and full of fireflies, I hope summer will go on forever. I might even worry a little bit about the quickening arrival of fall. But then one day, despite me, fall arrives and I love it. Love, love, love it. Especially these current frosty nights and warm sunny days. We gather what's left of garden harvest and I make soup (lots of soup). I wash all the woolens and start sorting through the yarn basket. The kitchen smells like apples and squash. We gather round the wood stove in the morning with warm mugs and books. There is something in the air that makes us a bit giddy with the hurrying, the filling up the shelves, stocking the root cellar and

circling the horses. Oh, that's these girls who are still talking about Harvey and playing Laura and Mary all day long!

This year, just in time to enjoy with the very last of the season's tomatoes, I found a killer homemade tomato soup recipe. I've always loved tomato soup, but admittedly I've been kind of hooked on the store-bought kind. I just couldn't find a homemade recipe I liked as much. Sigh. But seriously, how hard could it be? A bunch of pureed tomatoes were not going to get the best of me. As a committed do-it-myselfer, I was determined to figure this out. After several poor attempts, I finally stumbled on the perfect recipe. I thought I would share it with you. If your fresh tomatoes are coming to an end, stash this away for next year (or hurry up and freeze a whole bunch like I did today!). The backbone of this recipe was found on this inspiring blog, but I've tweaked to my taste (even better than store-bought!).


Tomato Carrot Harvest Soup

2 Tbs butter
Olive Oil (lots)
4lbs of tomatoes (peeled and halved or quartered depending on size). You likely know the easy way to "peel" a fresh tomato is to stick it in boiling water just until the the skin cracks then lift it out and drop in a sink full of cold water. Skin will peel right off with a paring knife now!
Salt to taste
black pepper to taste
fresh springs of oregano (optional)
1 med onion diced
2 (or more) stalks of celery, diced
5 (or more) medium carrots, diced
3 (or more) cloves of garlic, minced
2 cups vegetable (or chicken) stock
a pinch of baking soda
a pinch of sugar
1/2 - 3/4 cup half and half or heavy cream

Place sliced tomatoes in a baking pan. Cover generously with olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. For a bit more flavor add a couple sprigs of fresh oregano on top of tomatoes. Place in 400 degree oven for 30 minutes to roast.

Halfway through the roasting, melt the butter and a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy soup pot over med-low heat. Add onion, celery, carrots, and garlic and cook until the vegetables soften. When the tomatoes are done, add them to the pot (take out the oregano) along with the stock. Simmer on low until all vegetables are tender. Now, add a pinch of baking soda (my mom taught me to wet the tines of a fork and just stick the fork into the baking soda box. The baking soda takes out the extra acid and sweetens up the soup. I find it too tangy without the baking soda). Lastly, add a pinch or two of sugar (or other sweetener) to taste (if your tomatoes are very ripe and sweet you may not need this).

Puree the soup in blender. If you plan to freeze any soup take out what you want to freeze now and add the cream to the rest.

Add more salt and pepper to taste and delight in the perfectness!

Happy October everyone!