Tomato Soup

It's that time of year, where us Southern gardeners start dreaming of that first fresh ripe tomato. We envision tomato sandwiches, tomato pies, thick slices of tomato topping creamed corn and biscuits. mmmmm. Before we get to the summer though we have to make a mad effort to finish out our stores of food that we have stingely guarded over the long dark winter. We ration ourselves out to make sure we have an array good quality ingredients to last till spring and somehow, we always have an abundance left and chide ourselves every year.

This year, I have ONE jar of canned tomatoes left. I've actually had to substitute using cans from the store, but I found one quart I had missed hiding behind a casserole dish in the pantry. So I decided to give a go at Home made Tomato Soup. I looked at several recipes but decided to wing it with a loose inspiration from Robert St. John's Deep South Staples.

I did not get mine perfectly smooth and tomato-y like Campbell's. So please don't try this if you are expecting a home made version of the classic condensed soup. This a is light tomato creamy flavor. Perfect for dipping a Grilled cheese!

*Don't yell at me. I promise I've been taking pictures, but I've been trying a new trick of typing up the drafts while items are cooking so that I don't get terribly behind in posts AND pictures. I'm still figuring out the time tables of better blogging practises while living!

Tomato Soup
Ingredients:
1 Quart Jar of canned tomatoes with juice
1 can diced tomatoes
4 tbs butter
1 vidalia onion
3 cloves garlic
1 large carrot
1 stick celery
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup flour
1 cup cream
1/2 stick butter

Directions:
Melt 4 tbs butter in sauce pan. Add finely chopped onion and garlic. Stir. Add finely chopped carrot and celery. (I use a mini food chopper and do each item seperately). Cook for about 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper. Add chicken broth. Stir. Add all the tomatoes. Bring to a light boil then reduce to simmer for as long as possible to let the flavors blend. About an hour.

In a seperate sauce pan, melt the 1/2 stick butter. Add flour and cook until a smooth paste. Add cream and cook until blended. Add to tomato mixture. Pour entire mixture into a blender or food processer and pulse until tomatoes are well chopped and mixture is smooth.