Comfort in a Bowl

This past weekend was no-doubt Autumn weather.  It was cool and crisp, with the smell of burning leaves in the air (thanks to my neighbor up the street).  I wore a zip up sweater today and my son did not resist me when I dressed him in sweatpants rather than shorts for soccer this morning. 

To me, this officially means comfort food season has begun.  Yay!

On Saturday morning I got a pumpkin spice coffee (thanks to my Dad : ) and began planning menus for the weeks to come.  So far I've jotted down mac & cheese (the REAL kind), butternut squash soup, my hubbie's favorite chili, and pumpkin risotto.  Planning ahead works really well for me.  This way I know what to buy on grocery shopping day for what dish I plan to do for the week. The season  always seems to go by waaaay tooo fast, and I don't want to skip a beat.  There are too many yummy dishes to me made and I can't wait to share them with you. 

For this week, as promised,  I wanted to share with you my recipe for Tomato Bread Soup.  If you have been asking yourself  what can you do with the rest of your summer tomatoes, then read on.  I have the perfect idea for you.  This recipe is not only delicious, but September is the perfect time to make it. 

When there is chill in the air, the first thing most of us crave is soup.  Am I right?  You can clean up your garden and use the last of your sun ripened tomatoes and also what's left on your basil plant.  This is a thick, hearty soup that will make you so happy it's chilly out.  All you need to make it is:

1 lb tomatoes, quartered and seeded

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1/2 cup finely chopped basil

1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes

1 1/2 cups water

1/2 loaf crusty Italian bread

olive oil

garlic powder

salt & pepper

Put tomatoes on cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil.  Season with garlic powder, salt & pepper.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Roast tomatoes for 20 minutes. 

{While the tomatoes were roasting I headed out to my basil plant and picked off a few leaves.

I picked off what I thought to be about a half cup chopped.  Ahhhh.....Smells so good!

Whatever is left on the plant I will make pesto with and freeze for the winter.  Nothing goes to waste around here. Love that!

How's my guess? Looks good to me : - }   Anyway, back to the soup.....

In a large saucepan heat 1 Tbs olive oil and chopped garlic.  Add basil and stir for 30 seconds. 

Add canned tomatoes (with their juice) and water.  Season to taste with salt & pepper.  Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. 

Meanwhile....

Tear bread into pieces (about 1/2 inch). 

Stir in bread, and then roasted tomatoes.  Simmer for another 2-3 minutes.  

Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.  

It doesn't get any better than this.  It will warm you to the bone and make your heart happy.

This truly is comfort in a bowl. 


In other news....

This has been ME for the past few days.  I've been home recovering from having 4 wisdom teeth pulled on Thursday.  My week started with a mamogram, ended with oral surgery, and had lots of ups and downs in between.  It's never fun when too many things hit you at once.  Life has so many pressures, sometimes I feel like I'm spinning in circles.  As all you know, trying to juggle family, work, obligations, and time for yourself is not always easy.  To be honest, at the begining of the week I was dreading this surgery.  Come Thursday I was acutally looking forward to it because I knew it would force me to sleep and stay quiet (as much as humanly possible with a 4 yr old in the house).  It's also been the souce of a fantisic crash diet, since all I've eaten in days is jello and applesauce, although I don't recommend it.

By Sunday the swelling in my chipmunk cheeks had gone down, but I awoke to two big black and blue marks on the right side of my face.  The dct said it will take a few weeks to completely heal.  To make matters worse I've also come down with a headcold. Welcome to my pitty-party. 

It hasn't been the best week for me, but as my mother said to me this morning, it certianally hasn't been the worst either.  She's got a point.  Life is all about perspecitve. 

Anyway, I wasn't able to eat my soup today, but Hubbie and my little one loved it.  They spent the afternoon rollerblading and were quite chilled by the time they came inside.   I froze the rest of the soup and I am looking forward to having a big bowl as soon as I'm feeling better.  I will need a cup of comfort in a bowl.  Don't we all?

I wish you all a wonderful week and come back soon!  xo

PS if you are wondering what book I am reading is the picture above, it's Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks.  It came highly recommened by a friend of mine.  She was so right.  It's excellent!  : )