CREAMY TOMATO SOUP

Easy & Yummy!

found on silk.com; (comments & pics by me below)

·         1 Tbsp olive oil

·         1/2 medium onion, diced

·         1-2 cloves garlic, chopped (I used 3)

·         1 tsp salt

·         1 (28-oz) can whole tomatoes, undrained (I use Muir brand)

·         1 cup vegetable broth

·         1 bay leaf (I used 2)

·         1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (I used 1 t. dried basil)

·         1 tsp fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp dried thyme

·         1 cup Silk Original soymilk

·         1/4 cup Silk Original Creamer

·         Fresh ground pepper 

• 1. Heat olive oil over medium-low heat in a 4-quart stockpot.
• 2. Add the onion and sauté for 3-4 minutes.
• 3. Add the garlic and sauté an additional 3 minutes.
• 4. Add the salt, whole tomatoes with juice, vegetable broth, bay leaf, basil and thyme. Bring to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to crush the tomatoes.
• 5. Remove the bay leaf; add Silk, Silk Creamer and a few grinds of fresh pepper.
• 6. Purée soup in 2 batches in a blender until smooth and creamy (use caution when blending hot soup).
• 7. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
• 8. Return soup to pot, heat gently and serve.

Voila! Enjoy on a cold wintry day!

What's better than a hot bowl of homemade soup with freshly baked cornbread 

& poached pears ala mode 

on a cold winter's night?

 I promise, the last piece is for you...

Our bodies seem to know exactly what it needs.

On a very snowy December day, I made some vegetable & barley soup - a very large pot so that I could enjoy the left-overs. 

The base was from Bob's Mills 

Vegetable & Alphabet Dry Soup Mix. 

(They have many varieties & I look forward to trying them all.)

I added 1/2 c of pearled barley, 4 sliced organic carrots, 2 medium organic onions (so nice to work with - a different texture indeed), 4 organic potatoes, with the peels left on, salt & pepper, 3 bay leaves & 2 boxes of Imagine's Organic Vegetable Broth - yummy! The soup cooked in about 1 1/2 hours on a slower simmering heat. 

And for de taste de la resistance, desert was poached pears with sliced almonds (omitted on this serving) with a generous serving of Soy Delicious Vanilla Ice Cream. 

I've included the basic corn bread & 
poached pears recipes for you.

BASIC CORNBREAD 
(tweaked from Williams Sonoma recipe)

1 1/2 c whole wheat pastry flour

1 1/2 c cornmeal (the finer the better)

1/4 c fructose

1 T baking powder

1 t salt

1 cup almond milk (you can use vanilla flavored if you like)

1 c Toffutti sour cream (tofu-based)

1/3 c corn or safflower oil

1 egg substitute, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Oil or spray 9-inch glass pan.

Mix together dry ingredients

Mix together wet ingredients (in a different bowl)

Combine by gently folding in the wet ingredients - do not over-mix.

Pour into prepared pan.

Bake uncovered for about 35 minutes. Remove for oven & let stand for 20 minutes. Remove from pan & cut into 9 squares.

This cornbread is delicious when topped with margarine & honey!

POACHED PEARS WITH SLICED ALMONDS
(This recipe was tweaked from the Natural Choices Magazine, December 2012 issue.)

If serving 8, use:

4 pears

2 cups pear juice (I use Hansen's Organic)

2 T honey

1/2 c toasted sliced almonds (optional - but festive!)

Slice pears in half length-wise. Carefully remove the core from each half with a small spoon - easy to do - only a small amount needs to be removed)

Mix pear juice & honey in large saute pan or pot - bring to boil. (You'll need 2 pans as the pears need to lay flat.)

Add pears cut-side down - reduce heat to simmer (cook uncovered).

Gently press on pears after 40 minutes to see if tender.

Carefully transfer to serving plates.

Top with scoop of vanilla ice cream, a drizzle of leftover poached pear juice & top with toasted almonds.

This is a delightful desert - light, yet rich. Right before I begin to serve dinner, I begin poaching these pears - that way desert is still hot & ready to be served following dinner, & we all get to enjoy the sweet aroma of the pears while we enjoy our dinner.