Hello, friends! It's been so long since I've posted and I've been missing this space--and missing the regular creating that normally happens in my house. My kitchen and house are slowly returning back to their normal messiness (rather than utter disaster) and the creative juices have begun to flow again. Hooray!
This past week, while this was happening to Dan Rodriguez, I found my way to the farmers' market and back to my kitchen where some soup making soon commenced. Throughout last winter's long, long winter, I decided that pulling homemade canned soup from the basement on a lazy Sunday night was probably one of my favorite things (at least in the way of canned goods that come from the basement). There's nothing quite so lovely as putting little to no effort into making dinner--especially when the finished product is entirely homemade, by you.
Not that there was no effort put into the soup making, but just not at the time in which it was eaten. And that, my friends, is why I love preserving my own food. The end product is not only better for our bodies and better for our tastebuds, but it's also better for my sanity. I love cooking, but hey, we all love (and need) those meals where we don't have to work, right?!
So, this year I decided to make a bit more soup than I had last year and stash it in the basement again. This year I made Carrot-Tomato Soup and Tomato Basil. I kind of just made up my own tomato basil recipe and canned it like I would a tomato juice/sauce, in my pressure canner (a no-no in the official world of canning, but hey, I'm fine with that.) Both soups are so delicious with a grilled cheese made with homemade sourdough bread and local cheese. I've found that the carrot-tomato is also fabulous with buttery popcorn. Yum!!
I ended up with 5 canned quarts, another almost full quart in the freezer, and a pint or so in the fridge. While we could eat more than this, it's still a great amount for us for this winter. I'm looking forward to that first lazy Sunday afternoon when we first decide to pop open a jar and cozy up on the couch with a steaming bowl of soup, a warm oozing sandwich and our favorite show. So lovely! It will just be so lovely.