tomato soup recipe.

tomato soup recipe

-olive oil
-2 carrots, chopped
-1 small onion, chopped
-2 small cloves of garlic (1 minced, 1 sliced
-1 small pepper (warm to hot to taste)
-crushed red chili pepper flakes
-chicken broth (1 can or 2 chicken bouillon cubes plus 2 cups water)
-6 large ripe tomatoes (or 2 X 14 oz. cans of whole tomatoes, chopped)
-2 -3 stalks of fresh basil, chopped
-sea salt
-freshly ground pepper
-1/2-3/4 c. heavy cream

pour a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in large pot and heat to medium. Add garlic and chopped vegetables, stirring with a wooden spoon now and again until the veg. are tender (around 10 minutes). Keep partially covered during that 10 minutes. And the broth, tomatoes, red chili pepper flakes, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. After begins to boil, turn back down to medium and cover. Test taste to see if you need for salt, pepper and red chili pepper flakes. After about 10 minutes (or a bit before serving, pour in the cream and chopped basil and stir.) Reheat back to warm.

Enjoy with a loaf of fresh or day old bread.

I keep the left overs in a mason jar and they last about a week. I am the only one in my home who really enjoys tomato soup. Even with the extra spice, Matheau will eat it with a grilled cheese, but if given the choice, he isn't going to choose tomato soup. I make this entirely and selfishly for myself and enjoy it for lunch when we typically eat left overs, or easy prep lunches so we can get cleaned up and finish up our school day.

Just in time.

My tannenbaums are finished in time. I was afraid that they were coming off my needles too late, but the cold is back.

today.

Today is cold and filled with hot chocolate and a bit of school, and some time for knitting. (Also paying bills and other redlogic work-but that doesn't sound as fun. :))

a new year.

And I am so ready. I can't remember a year in which I couldn't wait to move on from more then this last one. Maybe it is just my age and my memory is fading about previous ones, but I am so thankful for 2010. Even though the year seemed to fly, I constantly was behind schedule, and well, I could go on, but I will stop. Again, I am glad to know it is January 4 and both our business and personal accounts are reconciled and as accurate as possible.

Alright, on to lighter topics - food. I've seen this caramel corn recipe for awhile now. (Scroll down a bit.) Finally tried it today. It beats my old recipe hands down. Only ingredient I changed was I used pecans instead of peanuts.

Hope you all are having a lovely January 4th!

just photos.

*It was pointed out to me by my dear friend Suzanne, that my hat (the ripley) looked very purple and not very brown, so I am hoping after editing the photo, it looks brown... I love purple, but I don't think red hair looks very good with a purple hat. :)