Hello! So, today it's chilly outside in South Dakota so I'm feeling like making a soup. I want to put something in the crock pot, that'll sit, simmer and make the house smell yummy! So I'm going to try stewing my tomatoes all day and see how things turn out for my soup later tonight.
I have made homemade tomato soup before and it was good, but I'm not sure if stewing all the yumminess first would make a difference? I have no clue. Good or bad. No idea. So I'll mention how things are going along the way and hopefully I'll learn something from my boredom today. Hm... hopefully.
I don't know much about tomatoes, I will sit down and learn more about them someday - but for now, please forgive my vagueness in the specific tomato area. Having said that - here is what I added into the crock-pot just now:
8 'Tomatoes on the vine'
1 Md white onion
1/4 stick of unsalted butter
1 C water
Chicken Bouillon
1/2 C Red Wine
Garlic
Liquid Smoke (Just a tad - I always add too much and it becomes overbearing quickly!!)
Oregano
Basil
Salt & Pepper
I put the crock-pot on a lower setting for 8 hours.... I'll check it in a few and see how things are stewing.
Hehehe.
11:05am**
I've already learned something... after doing some research on homemade tomato soup and stewed tomatoes, I have realized I did NOT cut out the stiff, hard white centers of the tomatoes. I have taken each half out of the pot and now done that. I've also realized that I probably should have boiled the tomatoes first, blanched them & then taken off the skins. Hm... however, it's a bit too late for that, so we'll just see how it goes and I'm sure I'll be able to skin them later, down the road. Trial and error - that's how I cook. Oh fun!!
1:15pm **
So I'm having doubts on my stewed tomato soup. It just doesn't look right. I used my potato smasher and mushed around a little and the tomatoes crushed easily, which is a good thing, to me. I mix it all together and the tomatoes are smashed pretty well, but it just doesn't look right. I taste it and it's yummy. So.... just like most everything else I make, it looks a bit 'odd' but it tastes great! So... I'm sticking with it.
However, I did add a few things to it; cumin (I could be blamed for cumin overload - - I love it!!), a small sprinkle of sage, a bit more garlic & a bit more liquid smoke. I'm trying to give it a more hearty, full taste and hopefully that'll do it. We'll check it some more in a little bit.
Side note: I did have a thought, while trying to make my tomato soup more hearty... I have a can of Hormel Chili - no beans. Once the soup is finished I may add half or the whole can of that. I'm teetering between that possibly ruining my day-long efforts in making a wonderful tomato soup or would it enhance the soup (which could end up badly, honestly) and truly make it hearty? It's possible, in the end, that I add it to just the kids' portion, so that they will eat it for sure. Hm.... I'll debate this a little further before it's finished. Just a thought.
2:25pm **
I have officially scorched my tongue testing my creation - and it hurts like hell!! BUT... I am actually very happy with how it's tasting and do not feel like adding a can of pasty, chunky, greasy chili to it would do it any justice. I do love those Hormel chili's in the right circumstance, however if I'm going homemade, might as well go all out, huh? So.... no canned chili in my stewed tomato soup. And my boys will still eat it.... I'm sure of it.
4:00pm **
My tomatoes are making the house smell wonderful and I think they are 'stewed' to their full capacity by now. I have turned off the crock-pot and took the lid off... hopefully they will cool off enough for me to blend the heck out of them later. My tongue still hurts but the tomato juices taste even yummier than before. So far, I'd say things are going quite well.
4:00pm **
My tomatoes are making the house smell wonderful and I think they are 'stewed' to their full capacity by now. I have turned off the crock-pot and took the lid off... hopefully they will cool off enough for me to blend the heck out of them later. My tongue still hurts but the tomato juices taste even yummier than before. So far, I'd say things are going quite well.
(Pardon the dirty crock-pot. How in the WORLD could it stay clean with such yumminess inside??)
5:50pm **
So I have blended the stewed ingredients and prepared to heat it up. I got my pan out, placed a bit of sour cream in the pot as I turned the heat on and then added the soup. It heated up appropriately and then I made the grilled cheese while the soup heated up. Overall, it was quite yummy, however I'm not sure if the stewing all darn day made a difference, other than it gave me something to do on my (obviously) very boring day.
Hope you enjoyed my adventure today.
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