Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Garden Tomato Soup

This stuff is so good. I love tomato soup anyway, but once you make it from scratch, it is so simple! It is also a fast preserve in the pressure canner. I made a batch big enough for 5 families to have three quarts on their shelves in the roaster yesterday and canned it all today. Very good and very good for you! This will make the number of tomato plants we need this coming summer raise substantially. I will be eating this for lunch a lot...I used to buy the little drinkable tomato soup cups from Campbell's when I was in college and would have them for lunch with a veggie burger each day in the commuter lounge. This would be easy to make just as accessible by canning it in half-pint portions. You pop the lid off and you can totally reheat in the microwave. Here's what I did: 

In a stock pot combine (or you can do this in a crockpot all day, if that is easier):
8 cups roughly chopped or canned diced/crushed tomatoes, with juices
1 large onion, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 carrots, thin sliced
2 stalks celery, sliced
1 c summer squash, sliced
6 c meat stock
1/2 t fresh ground pepper
1 T dried basil
salt to taste (it will need some, at least)
Simmer until all your veggies are soft, then blend or puree it to make it smooth. Right before serving add a T or so of heavy cream to the bowl of soup for a creamier version.

To can this, prepare your jars, lids and rings, then fill. Process 25 minutes at 10 pounds pressure for pints and 30 minutes at 10 pounds pressure for quarts.

The croutons are simply grilled cheese sandwiches (For my personal croutons, I use the gluten free boule recipe from Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes a Day, which worked out okay, but is pretty dense. Looking for other make at home options.)I cut into crouton size. Toast in the oven when you're ready to eat them, until they crisp up a little.

This post is also in conjunction with A Little Bit of Spain in Iowa's Simple Lives Thursday Blog Hop. Check it out!

3 comments:

  1. I love homemade tomato soup, this recipe sounds delicious.

    -Brenda

    ReplyDelete
  2. it was awesome. very pleased that, except for the beef stock that I used, everything can come from my garden next year for this!

    ReplyDelete

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