Summer may be ending, but soup season has just begun!

*Amendment as of 10/5/10 I forgot to mention that I did not strain my soup, as the recipe calls. I prefer chuncky tomato goodness in my soup. Hence the thick texture shown in my photo. I used my stick blender to blend to the desired consistency*

Eureka! I've found it! The perfect tomato soup recipe!!! This has been quite the process, and I have gone through many a recipe in this quest. I think the problem was many of the soups would end up tasting too much like tomato sauce, or canned tomatoes. This recipe uses roasted tomatoes, which really gives a nice rich flavor to this soup. Its the perfect time to make it because garden tomatoes are at their prime, and my garden has an abundance. So this soup was basically free to make, I had all the ingredients on hand! I think next week I'll make another batch and freeze it. Try it with some delicious homemade bread bowls and a lovely tossed salad for a light and healthy dinner .

I actually found this recipe by doing a google search. Here is the link and the recipe. It is from the Zupa's blog, which I didn't even know they had. I'll have to keep checking it out. The only modification I did was adding less cream, oh and I used my stick blender, which is one of my very favorite kitchen tools! If you make a lot of soups, which I do, It is a must have item.

Roasted Tomato Soup

• 4 lb tomatoes, halved lengthwise
• 6-8 garlic cloves, left unpeeled
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons fresh oregano, minced [use only 1/2 tsp if you used dried]
• 2 tablespoons fresh basil, minced [use only 1 tsp if using dried basil]
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 cups chicken stock or low-sodium broth
• 3/4 cup heavy cream (That's a lot of cream! I only used 2 tablespoons, just to give it a little bit of a creamy texture, but it would be just as tasty without the cream, but if you are feeling indulgent go ahead!)

Directions

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat to 350°F.

Arrange tomatoes, cut sides up, in 1 layer in a large shallow baking pan and add garlic to pan. Drizzle tomatoes with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast tomatoes and garlic 1 hour, then cool in pan on a rack. Peel garlic.
Cook onion, oregano, basil, and sugar in butter in a 6- to 8-quart heavy pot over moderately low heat, stirring frequently, until onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, garlic, and stock and simmer, covered, 20 minutes.
Purée soup in batches in a blender (use caution when blending hot liquids), then force through a sieve into cleaned pot, discarding solids. Stir in cream and salt and pepper to taste and simmer 2 minutes.
Divide soup among 8 bowls.

Homemade Bread Bowls
this comes from allrecipes.com
2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (110 degrees)

-->1 cup warm milk ( 110 degrees)

1/2 c shortening

1/2 c sugar

2 eggs

2 t salt

6 c all purpose flour

cornmeal

Directions

1. In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the milk, shortening, sugar, eggs, salt & 2 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once. Cover & let rise until doubled in size, about an hour.

2. Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface. divide into eight pieces; shape each into a ball. Grease 2 baking sheets and sprinkle with cornmeal. Place 4 balls 3 inches apart on each prepared pan. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

3. Cut a thin slice off the top and scoop out bread. Serve with soup or chili.