“We have so much in common, we both love soup and snow peas, we love the outdoors, and talking and not talking. We could not talk or talk forever and still find things to not talk about.” – Sheri Ann Cabot, Best in Show
It’s January. My world is covered in a crisp layer of snow, white-capped and peaceful. In winter, I’m one to avoid the outdoors and use this time of forced staying home or “in” to rest, organize, and be. Being for me usually means letting my creative juices out. And last month, I spent every moment of culinary creativity making cookies. I must’ve made 8 varieties or more, each were exceptionally delicious! But, I was ready for the holidays to end to being making soup. I love soup! I honestly can say I would eat it everyday and not get tired of it. I could have it for more than one meal. And I will confide that, yes, I have eaten a favorite soup for breakfast.
With creativity flowing, and my strong desire to create some soups, I used some my spare time this weekend to make some soup. Friday it was just a throw together crockpot vegetarian chili. Delicious – but I can’t recreate that recipe. Too many “a little bit a this” and “a little bit of that” to remember and write it out. But today, I made a delectable Creamy tomato soup and I’d like to share with you the recipe. I was inspired by reading Double Delicious, Seinfeld’s new cookbook using purees to add nutrition and depth to dishes. But you can make this just as well by adding chopped carrots and simmering the soup until they are completely soft. Get a fire going, grab a spoon, and enjoy!
Rachel’s Creamy Tomato Soup
1 stalk celery, sliced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 small onion, sliced
1 28oz can diced or whole tomatoes (not drained)
1 quart of chicken broth (preferably low sodium)
1 cup carrot puree (if you would like to use sliced carrots, add about 1.5 cups to the first step of the recipe and simmer until soft)
1 1/2 T dried basil
1/8t thyme
1/8 pepper
4oz fat-free greek plain yogurt (let come to room temperature)
Saute the first 3 ingredients for about 5 minutes until the begin to soften and the onion is mostly translucent.
Add everything but yogurt to the pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10-15minutes until the soup begins to thicken.
Turn off heat. Swirl in yogurt. Blend until smooth.
Serve hot with grilled cheese, toast or as an elegant appetizer.
*fat-free plain greek yogurt usually does not have a strong tang of other yogurt. It is thicker and creamier and adds a considerable amount of protein. Light plain cream cheese would work as a substitution.
* The tomatoes have enough salt for this soup and you shouldn’t find yourself needing to add any extra.
