On Our Way To Crazy

It has not been a good few days in the Manes house. We have been sick, sick, sick.

There is some kind of stomach bug going around, and apparently it has hit the high schools pretty hard. Aaron got really sick on Thursday night, and by the time he started feeling better on Saturday afternoon I had been struck down by it. I guess that’s what we get for hanging around with teenagers all the time.

So we had to cancel our Super Bowl party and all the fun trashy foods that go with it. Lucky for us, I tried out a new soup recipe last week, so we have been eating creamy tomato soup nonstop for four days. We both feel excessively better today… perhaps this soup has some kind of magical healing powers. It certainly tastes better than Pepto Bismal.

CREAMY TOMATO SOUP
- makes 3 quarts -

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
10 cups canned crushed tomatoes
5 1/4 cups chicken broth, skimmed of fat
3 sprigs fresh oregano, plus more for garnish (I used dried and it was fine)
1/2 cup half-and-half
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the onion and garlic, and cook, stirring, until translucent, about 8 minutes.

2. Add the tomatoes, stock, and oregano; cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer gently, un­covered, until thickened, about 45 minutes. Remove the oregano sprigs.

3. Slowly add the half-and-half, stirring constantly. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with oregano. Serve hot.

I think next time I will run the whole mixture through the food processor after it cools for a smoother texture. It is really creamy and delicious and I am pretty sad that it’s almost gone.