The gardening season is just about over at my house. As much as I enjoy to work the soil, the colder months bring me added hours of rest. After a long harvest season of freezing, canning, and preserving, rest is something I look forward to.
Although I’m still harvesting fall greens, root vegetables, and very soon, Brussels sprouts, I’m starting to clean up my backyard garden which has seen my summer crops to fruition. Today I plan on amending that garden area by adding homemade compost, sowing some buckwheat as a cover crop, and laying down alfalfa for added nutrients that will break down over the winter.
It’s bittersweet, but the soil needs its rest as well.
God has such a way of bringing forth fruit when we need it. I just harvested the last of my summer tomatoes. I’ve been making so much cold gazpacho throughout the summer that it felt almost a bit odd to be heating them up for a warming tomato soup.
Tomato soup is a comfort meal at my home. My children especially enjoy it when they’re able to dip a grilled cheese sandwich into it. I enjoy it that way as well.
A Warming Tomato Soup
This is a humble tomato soup made to capture the flavor of its main ingredient…tomatoes. It’s made rich and nourishing with homemade chicken broth and a few simple spices.
Whenever I make an end of the harvest season tomato soup, I generally double or even triple my batch. This allows me to freeze what I have leftover for future simple lunches or supper.
An end of the harvest season warming tomato soup.
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups yellow onion, roughly chopped
- 3 tbls extra virgin olive oil
- 14 tomatoes, skins and cores removed then roughly chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 3 bay leaves
- 2 tbls thyme leaves
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1 tbls salt
- 2 6oz cans Muir Glen, organic tomato paste
Method:
- In a dutch oven, gently heat 3 tbls extra virgin olive oil. Add the onions and saute until they just start to turn translucent; 3-5 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes, garlic, chicken broth, bay leaves, thyme, ground cloves, and salt. Mix all the ingredients together then bring to a boil, reduce to a medium heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Once the tomato soup has simmered for 20 minutes, incorporating all of the flavors, remove from the heat and either working in batches, puree all the ingredients in a blender or using an immersion blender, puree the ingredients in the dutch oven.
- If using a blender, return the pureed soup to the dutch oven and mix in the tomato paste. Return to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for an additional 5 minutes or until the soup thickens.
I also wanted to share a couple of exciting sales.
1. Bundle #43: real food for winter
Bundle of the week is currently selling my own eBook, Nourishing Menu Plans on A Budget: A Month of Meals from My Humble Kitchen to Yours, in their latest 5 book bundle sale. It’s a great deal and includes my friend Katie’s book from Nourishing Simplicity called, Steeped: Simple Nourishing Teas and Treats. It’s a great book. The entire bundle cost $7.40. A great deal!!
To purchase, click on the image below.
2. the Ultimate Healthy Living Bundle is coming soon!
I’m really excited about this new bundle that’s coming out because it’s going to include my brand new eBook called,
I’m planning on launching my new eBook after the bundle sale. I want to make sure you can get a great bargain that includes it before selling it on its own. It includes 10 naturally sweetened cookie recipes that I know you’ll enjoy for the holiday season.
So, how are your gardens doing? Are you amending them? Please share with us what you do to keep your soil fertile for the years to come.
Some of the links contained in this post are affiliate links. Thanks for your support!
Yum. I was just thinking last night that I want to find a good tomato soup recipe. I’m going to have to try this one soon….but I’m going to add some cheese rinds I’ve been saving. I like that little bit of richness in restaurant soups. We’ll see.
Do you remove the seeds as well when you are removing the skins and chopping the tomatoes?
Kayla, I don’t remove the seeds.
I don’t eat chicken. I’m wondering how this would turn out with vegetable broth instead.
This soup will taste just as great with vegetable broth.