fresh from the garden: Oven Roasted Tomato Basil Soup

Our tomatoes took a little longer to ripen this summer for some reason but they are finally ready and there are a lot of them.

Mr. Wonderful likes to make big batches of fresh tomato sauce each summer and then freeze it for later use. We are still doing that however he decided last week to try making some fresh Oven Roasted Tomato Basil Soup as well since we had so many ripe tomatoes all at once. 

We also have plenty of fresh basil too so he picked a handful to put in the soup.

Most of our tomatoes this year are Roma which are great for cooking and perfect for sauce and soup. He sliced a bunch in half and spread them out, skin side down, on a large baking pan along with some cloves of garlic. The first time he tried lining the pan with parchment paper but decided not to use it on the second batch and did not notice a difference in taste, texture or clean up. 

The tomatoes were baked at 400 degrees for about 40 minutes or until the tomatoes and cloves were beginning to brown. 

In the meantime, he sliced up a couple onions.

Then he cooked them in a little olive oil until they began to brown.

Once the onions were ready he added the roasted tomatoes, garlic and all the juice from the baking pan and then blended it all together. It was absolutely wonderful. In fact, he made another batch the following day but this time he removed all the tomato skins after baking which we both liked a little better. 

Either way it turned out great and I am sure he will be making it again and freezing some just in time for fall. My hope is that he will write it down so that I can make a batch now and then however it is really nice when he does the cooking.

Happy Wednesday!

Food Week :: "oven roasted" Tomato Basil Soup

Fresh oven~roasted Tomato Basil Soup is one of our favorite ways to use our abundance of tomatoes.

It is very similar to the Tomato Sauce that we also make in

large batches, freeze and use over the winter

in recipes that call for canned tomato sauce,

but fresh is so much better.

Roasting the tomatoes enhances the flavor.

Onions and garlic are always added. 

And of course some garden fresh basil. 

It doesn't get better than that!

This is comfort food at its finest!!

You crown the year with your bounty, and your carts overflow with abundance. Psalm 65:11

Blessings!

The Secret Garden Tea Party ~ treats

Tea parties are all about the tea and the dainty treats. A fun part of the preparations is coming up with a menu that coordinates with the theme however the hard part is narrowing down all the ideas. And, if you're like me and can't narrow them down, then you just keeping adding! This years menu included a couple of new additions: Soup & Sorbet.

We served the soup in miniature mismatched tea cups and saucers. There were 2 choices of soup: Pear Potato & Tomato Basil, however, after taking requests we ended up serving both. The Pear Potato was topped with homemade creme fraiche, a sprinkle of chinese 5 spice, a few red pepper flakes and a sprig of thyme. Unfortunately I did not get a picture of the Tomato Basil soup however it can be found here.

Next we served Raspberry Sorbet followed by Lemon Scones with homemade Devonshire Cream. Unfortunately I did not get a picture of the scones either. There are so many things to photograph I occasionally miss a few. Thankfully I have posted the scones before so you can find them here.

Once our palates were cleansed we were ready for the savories.

Our Savories included:

Apple Chicken Sandwiches {GF}, Cucumber Flower Bites {GF}, Egg Salad Finger Sandwiches, Deviled Eggs {GF}, Chicken Salad Sandwiches and Tomato Pesto Herb Sandwiches.

The gluten free choices were very popular.

Below the Cream Horns are the Tomato Pesto Herb Sandwiches.

The tea party sweets included Mini Snickers Cupcakes, Cream Cones, Pavlova{GF} and Chocolate Covered Strawberries {GF}.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries are a favorite.

The Pavlova reminded me of little bird nests which I thought went well with our theme. 

I made the Snickers Cupcakes for a baby shower a few weeks ago. They got such good reviews I decided to add them to the menu but made them tea party size instead.

Our guests chose Earl Grey Tea and we served Grapefruit Sparkling Water as well. 

On Monday I will share the fun Secret Garden Tea Party game we played. 

Have a wonderful Saturday!

Oven Roasted Tomato Basil Soup

Our tomatoes are coming on fast now.

So, that means...

...it is time again...

...to make our favorite...

....Tomato Basil Soup!

Mmmm, Mmmm, GOOD!

~Have a great  Saturday~

Easy Peasy Rolls

One Bowl Rolls made this an easy choice for a 

“No Fuss, No Muss” side to go with homemade soup.

Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda

cut this recipe in half since it makes two dozen, however, I was too far along when it dawned on me that I usually make a smaller batch. 

The extras will not go to waste though. They will go in the freezer and be nice to have on hand.

These go great with homemade

Tomato Basil Soup and….

….complete this perfect Fall meal!!

Happy Wednesday!

soup & crackers

Basketball practice didn't get over until late on Friday night so by the time everyone arrived home it was almost 8:00pm. By that time we were more in the mood for a light supper rather than a heavy dinner so I made a batch of 

Tomato Roasted Red Pepper Soup

which was perfect!

Tomato Roasted Red Pepper Soup Recipe from: Jennifer {at} the Grand Surprise Yield: 6 servings 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 cups chopped onions 4 1/2 cups chicken broth 2 cups jarred roasted red pepper 29 ounce can whole tomatoes 1 teaspoon sugar 1 1/2 teaspoon dried basil salt & pepper Saute onions in oil 8-10 minutes. Add broth, red peppers, basil, tomatoes & sugar. Cover, bring to boil, reduce heat & simmer 15 minutes. Blend with emersion blender until smooth. Season with salt & pepper. Garnish with sour cream and/or parmesan cheese.

{I do not have an emersion blender so I use my regular blender which isn't as convenient but works just as well. I did try my food processor however I prefer the regular blender as the alternative for this recipe.}

I served homemade crackers with the soup along with grilled cheese sandwiches.

Mmm, mm GOOD!   

Sweetheart Crackers Recipe from: Country Living February 1992 MAKES ABOUT 36 1 cup unsifted all-purpose flour 1/4 teaspoon baking powder 1 tablespoon butter or margarine 1/3 cup milk Sesame seeds {optional} 1. Heat oven to 325℉. In food processor with chopping blade,      process flour, baking powder, and butter until coarse crumbs     form. Slowly mix in enough milk to form a soft dough. 2. Divide dough in half. On floured surface, roll one dough half      until paper thin, lifting dough often to dust with flour to prevent      sticking. With 3 inch heart~shaped cutter, cut rolled dough into     crackers. If desired, lightly sprinkle crackers with sesame      seeds.Gently roll rolling pin over the dough to press seeds      onto each cracker. 3. Transfer crackers to ungreased baking sheet. With fork, pierce     each cracker 4 or 5 times. Bake 10 minutes; turn crackers and      bake 10-15 minutes longer until lightly browned. Cool crackers;      store in airtight container.  Jennifer@the Grand Surprise

Have a great week!