For Dinner Tonight:

It's Creamy Tomato Soup

Homemade Bread

Blackberry Coffee Cake & Homemade Vanilla Ice-Cream

I can't remember which blog I got the recipe for the soup from - I copied the recipe into Word and managed to leave out those details. Fortunately the original blogger (I wish I knew who- someone from Canada I think as the Amazon link is for there) included the details of where the recipe was originally from and it is so nice I wanted to share it:

'It's Creamy Tomato Soup' (adapted from "Gardeners' Community Cookbook," by Victoria Wise, Smith & Hawken 1999).

1 large onion, chopped
2- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
8 cups tomatoes, chopped, juices reserved
2 large russet potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
10- 12 fresh basil leaves, torn
One leafy sprig each fresh thyme and oregano, leaves stripped from stems
Salt, pepper and sugar to taste
Sour cream (optional)

In a large stockpot or Dutch oven, saute onion and garlic in olive oil until fragrant and soft, 8- 10 minutes. Add chopped tomatoes, potatoes and broth and simmer until potatoes are soft, about 20 minutes. Season to taste with salt, a pinch of sugar if desired and freshly ground black pepper. Add herbs to pot, simmer to combine flavors and puree either using a handheld immersion blender or pureeing in batches in a food processor or blender. Soup will be very thick and creamy. To serve, pour into warmed bowls with a swirl of sour cream on top, if desired.

I had to adapt it even more as we were out of onion, garlic, potatoes and fresh herbs. We had all of these things dried however. It did make a difference, but it was still very nice.

I saw this yummy recipe posted today on Pleasant View Schoolhouse and decided to try it with some of last year's frozen raspberries. Delicious! Very quick to make and suitable for endless variation. We need comfort food: it hasn't stopped raining all day.