We discovered end of season tomatoes unexpectedly in the back yard while cutting back the crazy wild tomato plants. Hidden deep under all that foliage was a farmer’s basket of ruby red perfectly ripe tomatoes.
Ripe red ones of all sizes surprise me every morning and green ones just keep appearing even though I don’t see many flowers. This recipe for roasted tomato soup was so simple — made me load up my pockets with ripe tomatoes and head for the kitchen. Recipe from TikTok user flavorsbyfrangipane.
Roasted tomato soup
Ingredients:
• 15 ripe tomatoes — approximate depending on size — add some cherry tomatoes too if you have them
• 2 red bell peppers, sliced
• 1 red onion, kind of quartered
• 1 whole garlic bulb
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (plus extra for garnish)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Chili flakes and oregano to taste
• Fresh thyme and basil
Directions: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. In a Dutch oven, combine the tomatoes, red bell peppers, red onion, garlic and olive oil. Roast in the preheated oven for 1 hour. Once roasted, squeeze the garlic cloves from the bulb and add them to the roasted vegetables along with heavy cream, chicken broth and Parmesan cheese. Season with salt, pepper, chili flakes, oregano and fresh thyme. Blend the ingredients until smooth in a blender, with a stick blender, or run through a food mill like Ina Garten.
Finish the soup by adding more Parmesan cheese, heavy cream, salt, pepper, fresh thyme and chiffonnades of basil to taste. Serve the creamy tomato soup with warm bread or grilled cheese and garnish with extra Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!
Open-faced grilled cheese
A crunchy and cheesy open faced grilled cheese. What’s not to love?
Ingredients:
• 2 cup of grated cheese — I used a mixture of fontina, provolone and cheddar
• 1 slice of rustic country bread like Camino Bakery’s Blonde for each serving – dry out in a warm oven if loaf is fresh.
• One stick of butter
• A handful of herbs — I used parsley, basil and chives
• 2 medium sized cloves of garlic
• A couple of twists of black pepper
Directions: Finely mince 2 tablespoons of herbs and set aside. Using a food processor or a fork, blend soft butter with the remaining herbs, garlic and black pepper. Spread butter/herb mixture over bread. You may have some butter/herb mixture left over — save for another use. Toast bread under broiler until butter/herb mixture melts and bread is lightly toasted. Remove from oven. Sprinkle cheese on the lightly toasted bread and put under broiler. Watch carefully and remove as soon as cheese has melted and started to bubble. If you’re not serving this with tomato soup, place thinly sliced tomatoes over cheesy bread. Put under broiler for 1 minutes so tomatoes are warmed through. Watch closely so it doesn’t burn — especially the edges of the bread. Lightly sprinkle the minced herb mixture over the open-faced grilled cheese with tomato.
No time for green tomato pickles
If you love the crisp crunch and flavor of Clausen’s Dill Pickles, save the jar of leftover brine that remains after you’ve finished the pickles. Slice washed green tomatoes into the jar until full and covered in the brine. Hide the jar in the back of the refrigerator for a week or two. Open and enjoy — they will be crisp and perfectly Clausen flavored — wonderful next to a sandwich.
Getting ready for Halloween
My dream of backyard chickens finally came true thanks to chicken guru Bill Graves and the fencing mastery of Carl. Eight beautiful speckled Sussex hens named after presidential First Ladies: Martha, Michelle, Dr. Jill, Lady Bird, Betty Ford, Dolley, Mamie and Eleanor enjoyed a long summer with watermelon every afternoon, lots of clucking and general conversation but no eggs — they are only five months old. I read that chickens will carve your pumpkin for you if you draw your design and remove the tough outer pumpkin skin where you want them to “carve”.
The black walnut leaves at our house have not fallen — they are still green, and the Ginkgo trees on The Esplanade are chartreuse but not yellow. Despite the lack of signs and balmy days, I do believe fall is here. Make soup, dust off your sweaters, pretend it’s cold and enjoy the almost crisp weather.
