Abundance reigns, beauty as well! With so much fruit and produce available now, I have so many choices to pick from to write about.
I got to thinking about another time in my life and the most wonderful tomato soup I have ever had before or since. I was at a meeting with four others at the home of good friends who were not doing well, job-wise that is; doing fine every other way. They grew their own food and tomatoes had just come in—bushels of them. They made this soup for all of us that day and it was truly memorable for its delicious taste and simplicity.
Tomato Soup
8 ripe tomatoes, cored and cut up
2 quarts chicken broth
6 cloves of fresh garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh basil, finely chopped
Put all ingredients except basil which goes in at the end of cooking, in a large soup pot and simmer until tomatoes are soft, then add basil and serve. It even smells good while simmering.
Note: With too many tomatoes to use right away you can make your own dried tomatoes to store in jars for later use.
Dried Tomatoes
(Cherry tomatoes are not recommended)
Wash and slice any amount of tomatoes as thin as possible.
Remove seeds if you’d like. Roast them flat on a cookie sheet with a rack. Low oven (200-225) for 4 hours. You can do this in the sun, of course. About 3 to 4 days should do it, remembering to bring them in at night.
When they are dry, put them in clean sterilized jars and cover with olive oil. Add a peeled garlic clove and some fresh basil leaves before sealing jars if you would like.
