Adventures in cooking: Tomato Soup

Hey Ya'll!

It's been a REALLY long time since I last posted. I guess life got so day-to-day that it stopped seeming interesting. I'm still looking for a full-time job, but making a fair enough amount of money that I'm still not too fussed about it.

I've recently taken up cooking and it's been quite an adventure. I haven't bothered to attempt any Vietnamese dishes, maybe one day. In the meantime, I've tried variations of chicken dishes, eggs, and most recently potatoes. I'm going to make an effort to cook at least once a week and then post my (mis)adventures, so stay tuned!

Today I attempted, and was rather successful if I say so myself, Creamy Tomato Soup. Find the recipe below (particularly as all of my cooking skill is based on well-written recipes).

Ingredients: Servings: 6-8

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

1 tablespoon minced garlic

2 tablespoons flour

3 1/2 lbs ripe roma tomatoes, chopped

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 teaspoon sugar

3 cups fresh vegetable broth

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves (I didn't use this but it was called for)

salt and pepper, to taste

1/2 cup half-and-half (impossible to find in Vietnam, so I had to make it myself with milk and butter)

Directions:

1 Melt the butter with the oil over low heat in a pot.

2 Add the onion; wilt over low heat for 8 to 10 minutes.

3 Add the garlic during the last 2 minutes, stirring.

4 Sprinkle with flour and cook 3 minutes longer, stirring.

5 Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, and broth.

6 Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cover; cook over medium-low heat for 30 minutes.

7 Season with cloves, salt, and pepper.

8 Remove from heat.

9 Purée the soup in a food processor or blender, a small portion at a time.

10 Pour through a strainer into a pot.

11 Stir in the half-and-half.

12 Warm the soup before serving.

The most annoying bit of it was certainly chopping the 3.5 pounds of tomatoes - note to self, get a food processor/blender. All in all it took about an hour and forty-five minutes, but with a half hour to spare in which I hung laundry. Yes, I'm having a rather domesticated day. Check back next week for more excitement, and maybe even photos.