My effort to discover new ways to feed fresh tomatoes to my husband continues!
This week, it's my first attempt at Tomato soup from scratch! I sweetened the deal by pairing it with fat slabs of peppered bacon on garlic cheese ciabatta bread. On the side, some sweet pucks of fried yellow straightneck squash in panko crumbs.
I fried up the bacon first, so that I could saute the soup ingredients in its fat.
All of these cherry tomatoes and Cherokee purples came from my garden and went into the soup!
Those Cherokee purples are gorgeous inside!
First thing into the bacon grease is some minced Mayan onion. Next, some tender heart of celery. Then, in goes the bowl of ruby tomato flesh along with a cup of chicken broth. As that simmers and reduces, I added fresh rosemary, oregano, and thyme. @mattlovell also had the brainstorm of popping in a little canned chipotle, since I forgot the tomato paste. We let that cook down for about half an hour. Then I let it cool before it hit the food processor. I added some Thai basil at the end.
Meanwhile, I made garlic cheese toast with some ciabatta buns.
There is a constant supply of tender yellow squash coming from the garden, so I sliced some up and staged a production line for frying.
First a dip in some fresh laid eggs, then a tumble in seasoned flour and panko crumbs, then a dive into the boiling vegetable oil!
Here is the meal fully assembled, with a generous dollop of crema on top!
When I was a child, grilled cheese and Campbells tomato soup was my mother's go to meal for tired, broke nights. I never felt poor eating this combination--all I felt was my mother's unconditional love. Making this dish from scratch with a lot of stuff I grew myself felt like paying that love forward to my husband and son. It was very different in flavor and texture compared to Campbells in a can! @Mattlovell said it was a bit to far on the acid side, and recommended adding a little sugar. Stirring in the crema brought out more of a bisque versus a gazpacho feel.
Bon Appetit! And happy #FoodFightFriday!
Nice! I always wanted to attempt my own tomato soup.
It's easier than I thought it would be! :)
This looks delicious!
Thanks! Comfort food for the win. Much appreciation!
Oh, wow, that all looks great. Especially knowing that a lot of the ingredients are fresh from your garden. Things always taste so much better that way.
It's too bad you need to come up with new and creative ways to serve tomatoes to your husband, though. I guess that means never a dull moment at dinner, but still, tomatoes are pretty tasty unto themselves. Sometimes, all they need is a little mayo. :)
Congratulations on another great looking meal.
Thank you! Your meals also inspire!
I love a fresh vine ripened tomato, but the hub will only eat them cooked. Our son won't touch them at all. Every heirloom tomato recipe online is prefaced with, "you really should be enjoying these raw"...peak of the season means too many fresh ones for just moi, lol! I have about 10 pounds of Cherokee purples ready to eat right now!
Our garden always ends up providing more than we can handle on our own so there's a lot of giving away that takes place. Most of us though do like raw tomatoes. It's funny, though, how that all works. Our youngest son used to eat pizza with a regular tomato-based sauce, but wouldn't want to touch what amounted to the same thing on spaghetti. Now he does, but for a while there you couldn't convince him that it was the same thing.
Gif’s, step by step precision, plating, photography skills.. Where am I? I must’ve tuned into the cooking channel.
Awww you're making me blush!
I did not, repeat: “did not!” Mean to upvote myself. That was an accident. lol...rough day at the beach
Ack! I forgot to mention that I put in about a cup of chicken broth, too.
Delicious! I love tomato sauce but can't do raw tomatoes. I think I will try out your soup recipe, which looks really tasty.
And bacon in grilled cheese is just genius.😍😍😍
Yay, I am glad that this recipe gives you a way to enjoy all the seasonal flavors of fresh 'maters :) Bacon makes everything better.
Looks amazing... I'm drooling at the sight! And it's partly home grown. Damn, who could ask for anything better that home grown?! 😎👍
Thank you! My dream is to grow and make everything I possibly can! This fall, we will be setting up our rabbitry, so that even the meat is raised with love. Cheers!
Fresh veggies from the garden can’t be beat. This is a lovely proclamation of love to your family. The food doesn’t look so bad either. I really like your take on those yellow squash rings, yum yum.
I agree! Your eggplant dish has me wanting to plant some in my fall garden. Thanks so much for seeing the intent behind the cookery <3
Uh... I.... ummm..... Food.... drool..... hungry...... bacon.... meaty tomatoes...
OMG that looks amazing!!!
Hehe, thanks, Homer!
Thank you so much for being part of the #socalsteemit community.
You are too kind! Thank you!!!
looks soo good!!!
Thanks! 😻