tomato basil sunday
it's been a rare thing lately for both chris and i to be home together on a sunday morning. between gigs out of town, weekends at the lake and second and third jobs, a weekend day at home with nothing to do has become about as coveted as free latte day at caribou coffee. because these days have been so few and far between lately, i usually use them to catch up on laundry, run errands i didn't get to during the week, and of course, snuggling with the pups a bit on the couch while catching up on some weeknight tv.
this morning's to do's included some laundry, choosing a rug for the living room and cleaning the kitchen. i also found out that the first two seasons of "don't trust the b in apt 23" is on netflix, score!
while cleaning out the fridge i found some cherry tomatoes that i had purchased for a party and never used. i also found some old baguette that i had been planning to make croutons with (i don't like to waste old bread so i make croutons on the regular and keep a stash in the freezer to top soup or salads or crush up for breadcrumbs), so i decided to make up a batch of tomato basil soup and put the cherry tomatoes to good use too.i'm generally not a recipe gal, i do a lot of throwing in random things that i happen to have in my kitchen, but for the purposes of this blog i measured out ingredients and created the following recipe. enjoy!tomato basil soup2 10oz containers cherry or grape tomatoes1/2 med sized red onion chopped6 scallions chopped2 garlic cloves2 bay leaves3 tbs. butter1 c vegetable broth1/2 c heavy cream1/2 bottle beer (i used a lager)2 tsp turbinado sugar or raw sugara handful of basil leaves, chiffonade (fancy word for skinny strips)salt and pepper to tastemelt butter in medium deep sauté pan. add red onions and scallions, season with salt and pepper and sauté on medium low heat until onions are brown and carmelized. turn up heat to med/med high, add tomatoes and beer. sauté until beer is reduced by about a quarter and tomatoes are starting to pop. add garlic and bay leaves and continue to sauté until beer is reduced by half. add the sugar and vegetable broth, reduce heat and simmer for another 10-15 minutes. remove the bay leaves and remove from heat. purée tomato mixture (i like to use an immersion blender for this) and check for seasonings. stir in cream at the end.serve topped with croutons, cheese and basil chiffonade.
homemade croutons
leftover bread cut into 1 inch cubesolive oilgarlic powdersaltpreheat oven to 375.put cubed bread in a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil. toss until all pieces are coated but not sopping. spread cubes out in one layer on a baking sheet. season liberally with salt and garlic powder (this is a good time to also try out other seasonings combos too. i also like chili powder, cajun seasoning, italian seasoning or steak seasoning).bake for about 20 minutes give or take, stirring about half way through.store in an airtight container or freeze in bags.