Seriously Tasty Tomato Soup

My pal Emily and I made up something brilliant. It's called Epic Day of Cooking. And you each gather 3-4 recipes, make your shopping list, go to the Berkeley Bowl, shop away (make sure you get enough bar snack mix), and then go to Emily's apartment, cook everything, and put it in single serving size tupperware and freeze it.

And then you're incredible, and you have tasty soups for days!

Did I mention you drink champagne while cooking? It makes you even more incredible. It does not help you use consistent formatting on your instagram though. Strange.

The half and half in this photo is a lie. You could put a splash in at the end, but then it would cause unfortunate side effects for your lactose-intolerant friends. Anyway, just ignore it.

Ingrediences:

Tomatos. Like, 5 lbs.

Onions. Like, 3

Garlic

Chicken Stock (you really should make your own)

Basil

2 Bay leaves

S&P

Chop your onions. Be furious that Berkeley doesn't compost. Really Berkeley? REALLY?

Core and halve your tomatoes, stick them on a sheet pan with your garlic and onions.

S&P for roasting.

Roast them for 25 minutes

Mmm... roasted.

Apply veg to soup pot, add 2 bay leaves and chicken stock. Simmer for 40 minutes.

Take out your bay leaves! They are tough to digest.... 

Add some basil!

Fresh basil is a totally delicious herb. I have a hankering for an herb garden. But alas, apartment living and San Francisco fog may not let it be as fruitful as my Momzo's. Her garden is magical.

Anyway, back to soup.

Enjoy your success with a(nother) glass of champagne! You are making soup magic!

Blend the soup with your immersion blender. If you don't have an immersion blender, stop reading this blog and GO GET ONE NOW.

Blend it until it looks even more delicious.

You will be so excited about how tasty it is, that you won't even WANT to add a splash of half & half.

You will be so excited, you will forget to photograph it. But trust me, it looks good. Put it in your belly.

XOXO, 

Soup Santa

Hipppie Soup (not just for hippies!)

Once upon a time, I worked at a summer camp. Not just any summer camp - Sierra Service Project. Which is a totally major service project, where high school kids go rebuild houses on an indian reservation for a week. I worked there for three summers, after attending as an awkward high school kid for 5 summers.

And I didn't just work there. I was a chef*. I was also a hippie. We didn't give people napkins. We didn't use paper plates. We cooked in giant vats. We made chocolate chip cookies and put a slice of bread in the bag to keep them from getting stale. Some kids thought the bread was for anyone who didn't like cookies. I didn't shower every day. I didn't shave my legs for weeks, y'all. SSP is where I became Greenzo.

True story.

*term used loosely.

Soup Santa came to SSP on Sundays. We made this soup, and it was incredible. This is my first time making it without multiplying the recipe to feed 60 hungry teenagers. So let's go!

Hippie Soup, from my darling co-chef, Laureen, without whom, I would never measure anything.

Ingrediences:

2 tbsp oil for sauteing
1 clove garlic, minced (I used 3)
1 onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped (I used 3)
1 carrot, chopped (I used like 10 baby carrots)
2 tbsp whole wheat flour
3/4 cup uncooked rice
1 can (28 oz.) tomatoes, chopped
Salt to taste
lots of freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon basil
3 cups hot milk (I used soy)



























Instructions:
Heat oil in a heavy pot and sauté garlic, onion, celery and carrot until onion is translucent.




























Add flour and sauté, stirring, until it’s a little toasty.






















Admire your measuring spoon. And your manicure.
























Add the uncooked rice, and about 2 cups water.





Add tomatoes, salt, pepper, herbs and  cook at least 45 minutes (until rice is done). I cooked it for an hour.

Remove from heat. Add milk and more salt and pepper if needed. Heat through but do not let boil.

Yield: 6 servings
Enjoy!  (If you burn the rice, say it's Cajun flavoring.) Serve with bread you made from scratch (no bigs).

What we learned: don't use soy milk - it makes it strangely sweet, even though you used unflavored soy milk. Use heavy cream instead. And don't be lactose intolerant. And drink champagne while you cook. Always.

Love,

Soup Santa