Tomato Soup 101

While we were vacationing last fall in the mountains, we stopped at what might have been the world's worst restaurant. We were lured in by the signs claiming this place was 'famous', along with the strong hunger created by a morning filled with antiquing, driving the Blue Ridge Parkway with the windows down, and listening to blue grass music at the apple orchard.

So we pull off around Linville, and followed the signs to the 'famous' restaurant. Turns out this fine establishment is famous not due to its cuisine but because it was built where 3 or 5 (?) counties meet.

Scott and I ordered something or other that we are still trying to forget about. Scott was hopeful enough to send food back that was cold... turns out it wasn't much better hot. :) So in one last attempt at something somewhat satisfying, he tried Sophie's grilled cheese. It's really hard to mess up grilled cheese, and as he ate it, he exclaimed that grilled cheese is one of his favorite things to eat.

Well, that was enough for me. I love to see my husband and kids smile when they sit down at the dinner table. Dinner is a main event at our house, so when I heard Scott exclaim his love of grilled cheese, I was thrilled. This is doable almost any night of the week, no matter if there are soccer practices or meetings competing for our dinner time.

So of course my next thought was what could go with the beloved grilled cheese, and tomato soup was the obvious choice. I remembered seeing a yummy sounding recipe online, and here was the perfect opportunity to put it to use. And so began Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup at our table.

Due to my kid's aversion to Kraft singles, or any American cheese (how did this happen?? I loved nothing more when I was a kid than to open the fridge and grab a cellophane-wrapped square of yellow goodness!), we use grated cheddar and real butter to prepare our grilled cheese sandwiches. The kids are onto something, because you have never had a better, more simple grilled sandwich than two pieces of whole wheat bread, spread with butter, sprinkled with a generous mound of cheddar, and grilled on the griddle. The bread gets golden and toasty, and the sweetness from the whole wheat and butter combine perfectly. And if a little cheese sneaks out and sizzles on the griddle, all the better.

But about the soup. It is hard to believe so few ingredients can come together to be so satisfying. A few notes: I use fire roasted canned tomatoes and half and half instead of heavy cream. Last time I made it, I used the tube of chopped basil (found right beside the fresh at the grocery store), and it turned out great. If you use the food processor, your soup will be chunkier; using the blender turns out creamier soup.

Le Madeline's Tomato Basil Soup

4 cups fresh tomatoes, cored, peeled, and chopped (8-10) or 4 cups canned whole tomatoes, crushed

12 -14 basil leaves, washed fresh

1 cup heavy cream

1/4 lb sweet unsalted butter

salt

1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper

Simmer tomatoes in saucepan for 30 minutes. Puree, with the basil leaves, in small batches, in blender or food processor. Return to saucepan and add cream, butter, salt and pepper while stirring over low heat.

A night of torture, I mean togetherness, I mean cable tv

We recently signed up for cable tv. We have considered this decision for a few months, beginning with the four months I spent in bed from exactly the time Scott got home from work until the next morning, otherwise known as The First Trimester of each of my pregnancies.

The in between time since then has been well spent reading in the evenings, talking, and watching network tv a couple of nights a week. Now that summer is here and the networks are full of horrible judging programs showcasing the best of the best in the worlds of dancing, singing, comedy, and making stuff no one wants or needs, our options have been limited.

Also factoring into our decision is the fact that I am becoming less and less productive and energetic, if that were at all possible (those of you who know me know exactly what I'm talking about). My couch time is on the increase, and is showing signs of a continual upward climb.

In other words, it's time to provide the pregnant lady with some wholesome quality entertainment, which includes watching men with mustaches cussing each other out while they make motorcycles, all eight (or 15) years of Law and Order, or the life cycles of pond-dwelling animals such as frogs and salamanders (had to spell check that one- see what too much tv does to your brain?).

So, in light of all this cable goodness, why would my husband subject me to watching Steven Segal do karate on bad-guy cowboys, on this our inaugural evening of the loveliness which is cable tv?

We could be discovering what kind of weather the fine folks in Lincoln, Nebraska will be enjoying tomorrow, or ordering new pots and pans designed by a celebrity chef, or finding out the answers to the important questions in life, like how are Jolly Ranchers made.

But instead it looks like I'll be enjoying watching an aging, pony-tailed man in a tight all-black outfit karate chopping in slow motion while dodging rattlesnakes. And let me tell you, it is riveting. Of course, it could be COPS reruns. And I could be by myself instead of relaxing with the man who is the love of my life and whose decision it was to get me cable in the first place.

I guess I'll suck it up and enjoy the show, or at least pretend to.