Old Fashioned Tomato Soup

What do you do when you've got too many tomatoes? Why, make soup of course! I had about 6 quarts of frozen tomatoes that started to thaw when the power was out, so I made a double batch of tomato soup yesterday. It does not freeze well because it is a creamy soup and will separate, so we will be eating it for a while, and we have already given 3 quarts away.

Old Fashioned Tomato Soup

4 tablespoons butter

1 small cooking onion, minced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 cups good chicken stock

3 quarts of chopped tomatoes, fresh, canned or frozen

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon of baking soda

fresh ground pepper

1 tsp. basil

1 tsp. oregano

2 cups of light cream or half and half, heated

Melt butter in large stock pot and saute onions and garlic just until translucent - do not brown. Add chicken stock, tomatoes, sugar, baking soda and seasonings. Simmer for two hours, stirring occasionally. My double batch took much longer because the tomatoes were still partly frozen but eventually, I had a nice thick tomato mixture. Puree until smooth using a hand held blender or in small batches in a traditional blender or food processor. Return to pot and slowly add heated cream, blending well. Heat through but do not allow to boil after cream is added as curdling may occur. Taste for seasoning and salt and pepper to taste. Makes 3 quarts.

Serve with grilled cheese sandwiches, naturally!