Cream of Tomato Soup

I know what you are thinking. It is 90 plus degrees outside and I am making a hot soup! What the hell? Well, this recipe calls for fresh, ripe tomatoes and there is no better time than now to hit up your local famers markets or grocery stores before it is too late. This is a great soup that you can make on a lazy Sunday (because it does take about an hour) and freeze for later. It will be quite the pleasant suprise when you open your freezer this Fall and have this tasty, comforting soup to pair with an amazing grilled cheese.

Source: Barefoot Contessa

You Will Need:

• 3 Tbsp good olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups chopped red onions (2 onions)
• 2 carrots, unpeeled and chopped
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic (3 cloves)
• 4 pounds vine-ripened tomatoes, coarsely chopped (5 large)
• 1 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1/4 cup packed chopped fresh basil leaves, plus julienned basil leaves, for garnish
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 1 Tbsp kosher salt
• 2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• Fresh basil, for serving

Here We Go:

• Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-low heat
• Add the onions and carrots and saute for about 10 minutes, until very tender
• Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute
• Add the tomatoes, sugar, tomato paste, basil, chicken stock, salt, and pepper and stir well
• Bring the soup to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer, uncovered, for 30 to 40 minutes, until the tomatoes are very tender
• Add the cream to the soup and process it through a blender or food processor and empty contents back into pot
• Reheat the soup over low heat just until hot and serve with julienned basil leaves

Serves 6
Happy Feasting!

T.C's Coleslaw

My grandmother was a phenomenal cook. I still dream of her homemade apple cakes with caramel butterscotch icing, fresh strawberry cakes, Santa Claus whisker cookies, old fashioned green beans, spaghetti sauce with cloves (who knew?) - the list goes on and on. She was one of those women who was a chef before her time and should have opened a restaurant with all of her "good eats" but never had the chance to. This homemade coleslaw recipe is made with just a few simple ingredients and yet it is so much better than those soupy coleslaw containers that you find at most grocery stores. It can be served with mac & cheese or atop a BBQ sandwich - either way it has just the right amount of vinegar and just enough mayonnaise that you can actually taste the cabbage and carrots.

You Will Need:

• 1 medium carrot
• 1/2 head of cabbage
• 2 Tbsp light mayonaise (my gramma definitely did not use light mayo but I did)
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
• Salt & pepper to taste

Here We Go:

• Grate carrot over medium sized bowl using a microplane (pictured here) or box grater

• Grate cabbage over bowl and mix ingredients together



• Add mayonaise, sugar, apple cider vinegar and salt & pepper
• Stir all ingredients together



Serves 2-4 as a side
Happy Feasting!

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

It is supposed to be in the mid 50's in Charlottesville this weekend, but with that being said, the mornings have still been in the high 20's/low 30's. I still think that warrants making all things warm and hearty for at least the next few weeks. It might be March but it definitely does not feel like spring yet.

My husband came down with a horrible cold this week, leaving him with all those flu like symptoms - achy, tired and congested. I decided this would be the perfect opportunity for me to be a "good wife" and make my first batch of homemade chicken noodle soup. The thought seemed pretty daunting, but with this fabulous recipe it turned out better than any chicken noodle soup my husband would of dumped out from a can (he thought so too!)

Recipe from Confections of a Foodie Bride (originally adapted from allrecipes.com)

You Will Need:

• 8 cups chicken broth
• 4 cups water
• 1 store-bought rotisserie chicken ( I used garlic and herb)
• 3 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 large carrots, peeled and cut into rounds
• 2 large stalks celery, sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves
• 3 cups egg noodles
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
• Salt
• Fresh ground black pepper

Here We Go:

• Bring broth and water to a simmer over medium-high heat in a large pot
• De-bone the chicken and separate the meat from the skin and bones
• Set the meat aside and add the skin and bones to the simmering broth
• Reduce heat to low, partially cover and simmer for an hour
• Strain broth through a colander into a large bowl; reserve broth and discard skin and bones
• Set the pot over medium-high heat and add the oil
• When hot, saute the onions, carrots, and celery until soft, 8 to 10 minutes
• Add chicken, broth and thyme and bring to a simmer
• Add the egg noodles and simmer for 20 minutes
• Stir in parsley, reserving some for garnish, and remove from heat
• Taste and season with salt and pepper as necessary
  



Makes Roughly 10 Bowls
Happy Feasting!