Minnie's Soup Kitchen

Cream of Tomato Soup   Yesterday I had intended making smoked tomato soup as my 120th from The Soup Book . The spouse dutifully went out and bought lots of tomatoes. He then read the recipe more closely than I had and observed the instructions about smoking the tomatoes on a rack over barbecue chips in a frying pan or wok. Change of plan. We had lots of tomatoes so I stayed in that section of The Soup Book . All I had to do was go out and buy sun-dried tomatoes and then I could start cooking. The first step was to roast twelve plum tomatoes. I did this at lunch time to expedite matters that evening. Just as well I did. I started preparing at about 5.15pm and the soup was ready to to eat at 7pm - much longer than the seventy minutes indicated in the recipe by Sofia Larrinua-Craxton . I chopped onions and celery, I diced carrots, I minced garlic, I skinned and chopped another eight tomatoes, and I chopped the sun-dried tomatoes. Then I sauteed the onions, later adding the cele...

Tomato Borscht Sofia Larinua-Craxton , the author of this recipe in The Soup Book , promises that you will love the rich colour and fantastic taste of this unsual version of borscht. With cinnamon among its various ingredients, it certainly smelt fantastic while being cooked. The other ingredients are onion, garlic, beetroot, ground toasted cumin seeds (I cheated and used pre-ground), fresh tomatoes, tomato juice, sun-dried tomatoes, vegetable stock (I inadvertently used chicken), soy sauce and seasoning; it's served with soured cream or creme fraiche and more toasted cumin seeds.  Delicious tomato borscht served with yoghurt and ground cumin. I made the borscht for lunch and three of us (the older offspring is out touting for work) have just eaten it. It lives up to Sofia's promise. I am hesitant about beetroot, but this is a soup I would definitely make again. The spouse and I agreed it was the spices and the richness of the tomatoes that have made it palatable. There...

Roast Tomato Soup There are seven tomato soup recipes in the summer vegetable section of The Soup Book   - classic tomato soup, cream of tomato, tomato borscht, gazpacho, sopa de tortilla and smoked tomato. I chose roast tomato by Sofia Larrinua-Craxton  because it looked simple and reasonably straightforward and today I had a lot to do.  As you might expect the ingredients include tomatoes (plum are specified but I couldn't find any in my supermarket), a red onion, garlic, vegetable stock (not home made, I'm afraid) and sun-dried tomato paste. The recipe involves roasting the tomatoes, onions and garlic, then liquidising them with the stock and and paste. Very simple. The complete mix tastes good and it'll be re-heated for lunch tomorrow. Earlier today I was down at the Dublin Food Co-op where I chatted to one of the co-founders. I can remember going to it years ago when it was located on Pearse Street, but before that it was in Temple Bar. Anyway, I bought a nice ...