Tomato Toe-Mahto

"I live on good soup, not on fine words."
-Moliere

I pulled out my dead, frost-bitten tomato plant yesterday.  It was time.  Although, the withered plant surprisingly was still bearing fruit... tiny green tomatoes hanging off of the vines that have spread like tentacles across our yard.  In honor of the glorious harvest she has provided us with late in the summer (I reminisce of the sun-warmed fruit that we ate like apples), I made a homemade tomato soup.   

Warm up your honey's tummy with a bowl of 33 Birch Tomato Soup.  It's the perfect ending to a day of raking, bench-painting, and plant-pulling... 
Enjoy! Your honey will request you make this again ASAP before they even finish their first bowl, guaranteed!   
 .ryn                                                                                                                 photos: ryn

Vine-ripened tomatoes

Sugar & spice

33 Birch Tomato
Adapted from the Barefoot Contessa tomato soup recipe

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons good olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups chopped red onions (2 onions)
• 2 carrots, unpeeled and chopped
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)
• 4 pounds vine-ripened tomatoes, coarsely chopped (5 large)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1/4 cup packed chopped fresh basil leaves, plus julienned basil leaves, for garnish
• 3 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt 
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• Croutons, for garnish
• secret ingredient: a pinch of crushed red pepepr flakes

Directions

Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-low heat. Add the onions and carrots and saute for about 10 minutes, until very tender. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, sugar, tomato paste, basil, chicken stock, salt, and pepper and stir well. Bring the soup to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer, uncovered, for 30 to 40 minutes, until the tomatoes are very tender.

Add the cream to the soup and process it in a food processor. Reheat the soup over low heat just until hot and serve with julienned basil leaves and big buttery garlicy cheesy croutons.

Eat. Repeat.