Some pretty bad storms passed through here a couple of nights ago. The sirens started going off just as my son was finally about to fall asleep. The news was warning us of softball-sized hail that was falling to the west and heading straight for us. My poor little car was sitting in the street, just waited to get pelted. But with no room in the garage and no carport on our driveway, what could I do?
Why park in a neighbor's carport of course. Surely they won't mind finding a stray Mazda in their driveway... I ran to my car in the rain and drove up and down the alleys until I finally found an empty carport. Thankfully it was a neighbor I knew, so after sprinting home in the downpour I called her to let her know. About 2 minutes after I got inside the hail started coming down. It only got to be marble-sized, but I spotted a couple of bigger ones in the yard. Better safe than sorry though! My wonderfully generous neighbor ensured that I would not have to deal with a deductible I can't afford! Thank goodness for neighbors! All the tornadoes stayed away, despite more sirens over the next few hours.
You can always trust Texas weather to be crazy, and sure enough, Thursday was beautiful! It was the perfect day for a zoo trip. Unfortunately, it seemed like everyone else had the same thought! Super crowded, but still super fun!
Apparently my camera looked delicious.
My youngest niece and her new friend.
This really would have been appropriate for Turtle Day.
My favorite animal!
After a tiring day at the zoo, I was having a serious soup craving. So I made my absolute favorite (and the world's best) cream of tomato soup. I could literally eat the whole gallon. I always make the full amount, thinking I'll freeze most of it, but we all eat the leftovers before I get a chance to!
Cream of Tomato Soup
Partly courtesy of the CIA, modified by me.
(That stands for the Culinary Institute of America. I'm unfortunately not a spy. Although I've always wanted to be!)
Makes about 1 Gallon
Be sure to read the notes at the bottom!
- 2 ounces bacon, diced (about 2 or 3 slices)
- 6 tablespoons butter or oil (vegetable or canola)
- 8 ounces carrots, small diced (about 3 carrots)
- 4 ounces celery, small diced (about 2 stalks)
- 4 ounces onions, small dices (about half an onion)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 ounces flour
- 2 quarts chicken stock or broth (homemade is best, but low sodium canned {4 cans} works well too)
- 4 - 14.5 ounce cans diced tomatoes, drained
- 2 - 15 ounce cans tomato sauce
- 4 parsley stems (or if you're like me and realize you're out, about a teaspoon of dried)
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 cloves
- 1 pint heavy cream
1. In a large soup pot, cook the bacon in the oil or butter until crisp.
2. Add the carrots, celery, onions, and garlic and cook over low to medium heat until tender, about 8-10 minutes.
3. Add the flour and stir well. Cook this for 12 minutes, stirring about every minute or so.
4. Blend in the chicken stock or broth. Add the diced tomatoes and tomato sauce and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes.
When you're adding the chicken stock, add in about a cup first and scrape the bottom of the pot
to get any stuck on bits. That's all amazing flavor, so don't leave it stuck there!
5. Tie up the parsley, bay leaves, and cloves in cheesecloth. Add to the soup and simmer another 30 minutes.
6. Remove the little package of parsley, bay leaves, and cloves. Puree the soup in batches, using either a blender or a food processor.
My mind is going completely blank and I can't remember the name for the little thing you pull out of the lid of both machines to be able to add ingredients while it's running. But be sure to remove whatever that thing is called! Otherwise the heat will build up pressure and your kitchen will be covered in tomato soup. Use a towel to cover it and prevent splatters.
7. At this point, put whatever soup you want to freeze in containers. Put the soup you plan on eating into a pot and add the heavy cream. But not all of it! The pint is for the whole recipe. So if you freeze half and plan on eating the other half, add only 1 cup of heavy cream, etc. The soup doesn't freeze well with the heavy cream. It will keep as leftovers in the fridge fine with the heavy cream though.
8. Bring it back up to heat and season to taste with salt and pepper. Enjoy it with oyster crackers, grilled cheese, croutons, or more!
Thank you Martha Stewart - your photographers have more skill than me.
Notes
- You probably noticed almost every ingredient is given by weight. It's the most accurate way of cooking. I gave the approximate amounts in case you don't have a kitchen scale handy. If you do though, measure everything by weight the first time through. Then you'll have an idea of how much 8 ounces of carrots actually looks like and so on. 4 ounces of flour is about .9 cup. So more than 3/4, but less than a whole cup.
- Small dice means 1/4". But don't whip out your ruler (even though I had to at school. Ugh). Since everything is pureed, the size doesn't matter too much. Just try to be consistent. If you cut the carrots bigger, do the same with the onions and celery. You want everything to cook evenly, so aim for about the same size pieces.
- The parsley, bay leaves, and cloves are optional, but really good! If you're missing one or two of those things, add whatever you do have. And if you're like me, you probably don't have cheesecloth around. Or you're even more like me and have some but can't find it anywhere! I always use a coffee filter and tie it up with butcher's twine. Any string will work fine though. Tying everything together makes it so easy to find and remove these items before pureeing the soup.
- This can be made healthier by omitting the bacon and heavy cream. You could substitute evaporated milk or even regular milk in the heavy cream's place. It could even go vegan by omitting the bacon, using oil, using vegetable stock or water in place of the chicken stock, and replacing the heavy cream with unsweetened almond milk or soy milk. It's pretty versatile, so have fun with it!
I hope everyone has a great weekend!
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