Happy Autumn!

The first day of Fall arrived with fog in the morning. It was as if Mother Nature was celebrating the change of season with a change in temperature. After 10 days of just near or at 100 degrees, this was a welcome change and relief. It also meant it was time to make some tomato basil soup.

First the tomatoes were washed, sliced in half, drizzled with olive oil and slow roasted in the oven for about an hour at 400 degrees. There was about 15 pounds of tomatoes in the bucket and they were all used.

Near the end of the roasting time, onions, celery, garlic, apples, and carrots were chopped and sauteed in butter in the big soup pot. As the onions turned translucent, the rest of the vegetables were getting tender.

They were stirred and mixed to create a delicious vegetable base with just the slightest bit of browning for extra rich flavor. The roasted tomatoes were out of the oven and ready to be added to the soup pot.

You can see the tomatoes have turned lightly brown on the edges and they are completely juiced up. Those juices are also added with the tomatoes to the rest of the vegetables.

Once the roasted tomatoes are added to the vegetables, chicken stock is also added. There are 4 cups of chicken stock or one whole organic carton. If you make stock yourself, that tastes even better! After simmering for 30 - 40 minutes, the soup is ready to be pureed. The blender works great for this task in small batches, so have another soup pot ready.

Once the soup is all pureed, return to the heat and add fresh, chopped basil, salt and pepper to taste. At this point it is ready to can, freeze or eat. When mixing it to eat, add coconut milk, soy milk or cows milk depending on your preference. They all taste good! This batch is ready for the freezer and it made five hearty meals plus leftovers. What are you doing with your end of the season tomatoes?