Creamless Creamy Tomato Soup

It's been a while since I've posted a recipe so here we go! I looooove tomatoes and a good tomato soup is always a fantastic lunch, especially when paired with a good grilled cheese sandwich. Our all-time favorite soup recipe is a Potato Cheddar Soup that I received during one of my wedding showers. But that's another recipe for another time. This Tomato Soup comes in at a close second.

This recipe is so good I don't even bother looking for a better one. It's got 14g LESS fat than regular homemade tomato soup (aka, w/cream or whole milk). This recipe is from America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook. We are kind of obsessed with America's Test Kitchen and own a couple of their cook books as well as an entire season of TV episodes where you can watch them make this goodness.

So what's wrong with regular tomato soup?  Well when you add cream to tomato soup, it dulls the flavor, not to mention adds tons of fat and calories nobody needs. America's Test Kitchen's (hereto referred to as ATK) solution was to.................add bread! Yes bread. It gives it a nice creaminess without taking away from the tomato flavor as well as thickens the soup just to the right consistency.

Drooling yet?

Here's the recipe:

You'll need:

::1/4 extra virgin olive oil
:: 1 minced onion (i use a large one)
:: 3 or 4 garlic cloves, minced
::pinch red pepper flakes
::1 bay leaf
::2 (28 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes (you can also used diced, which is easier)
:: 1 TB light or dark brown sugar
:: 3 slices of high-quality white sandwich bread torn into 1-inch pieces (crusts removed! very important!)
:: 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
:: 2 TB brandy (optional)
:: salt and pepper
::1/4 cup minced fresh chives (I don't use that much)

Directions:
1. Heat 2 TB of oil in a large Dutch oven (or pot) over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion, garlic, red pepper flakes, and bay leaf and cook until the onion is softened, about 5 min.

2. Stir in the tomatoes with their juice. Using a potato masher (or large serving fork), mash the tomatoes into smaller pieces. Stir in the sugar and bread, bring to a simmer, and cook until the bread begins to dissolve, about 5 minutes.

3. Discard the bay leaf. Puree the soup with the remaining 2 TB of olive oil  in a blender, in batches, until smooth. Return the soup to a clean pot, stir in the brandy and cook gently over medium-low heat until the soup is hot. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add chives in individual bowls.

enjoy!

The Pros and Cons of Sleeping In

First off, let me say that there are no cons to sleeping in.unless, of course, it is your wedding day and you sleep through all your beauty appointments. Or miss any beauty appointments. (for the record, I have never had any beauty appointments unless you count hair cuts. Which don't really count in my book since I always end up getting the super cheap cut that costs less than a good quality steak.) but there really are no cons to sleeping in.

 I actually slept in this morning and the thought occurred to me that there is no better way to start the day. Even if it's a Monday (and you know what I think about Mondays). Here are the pros:

 For starters, you slept in. That alone is pretty awesome. So you start your day with an automatic awesome.

 Second, sleeping in will make you realize that all the things you "had" to get done today really aren't all that necessary for survival. And you will re-evaluate your goals (when was the las time That happened?) 

Also, you will drink coffee for pleasure instead of survival. And it will taste better. Trust me. In addition, you will be happy. Why? Because you got to sleep in of course!

 Next, you will get to have bacon, eggs, pancakes, sausage, and Chinese food because by the time you get dressed and ready to face the world it will be BOTH breakfast and lunch time.

 Your clothes will match better if you are conscious when you get dressed.

 You will be spontaneous the rest of the day. You might even take a nap for no reason.

 You will use the remainder of your day and time more wisely because, let's face it, you DID sleep in and have less hours in the day to work with. Unless you're like me and decide to blog about it instead.


 My apologies to my readers for the lack of pictures in my recent posts. I've lost my little picture uploading gadget that I JUST bought from the apple store. Until then you might be getting posts like this one.

for more ridiculous ravings, visit mindy kaling's blog. she's the bomb diggity on stuff like this. except better.

Potato Chips, Ginger Ale, and Skinny Jeans

That is exactly how I stated my day today. The first thing I ate this morning was a potato chip followed by a swig of Ginger ale, straight from the 2 liter. Every Monday morning I am not awake until around noon. I am usually pretty grumpy that 1) it is Monday and 2) I have to wake up at 7:30. I don't really bother wondering if my clothes match or if my hair is like, really freaking amazing looking. I just know that they don't and it's not. What usually cheers me up is that I will go shopping later that day. Grocery shopping. But still for me, it's pretty exciting. I don't know why I like shopping so much....maybe it's that little swipe of a piece of plastic that makes it seem like I'm getting awesome stuff for nothing. Or maybe I just like clicking that little button that says "add to cart." I'm a girl and shopping is fun for me. I think thats a pretty basic concept.

 Aside from all of the above nonsense today is a day where I remember the different ways I am blessed. Let's get on with that, because fact is, reading about the Mondays of an average American female is not all that exciting.

 This week Karl and I had breakfast at our favorite area diner. It was so nice just to sit down and spend some time with him, especially since we both had a crazy week with opposite schedules.

mmm....poached eggs with hollandaise sauce, ham, toasted english muffin, and home fries.

 I got a surprise scarf gift from a friend. That was awesome.

 Dinner is already in the crockpot.

 My house ( and by house, I mean apartment) is comfortable and warm.

The 3 concerts I played this weekend were fun and they are over. Let's face it,there's only so much Vivaldi and Piazzola one can handle. Or should I say, Handel, haha. ( corny joke, I know)

 Thanksgiving is coming up soon. Which means vacation is coming up soon. yay!

 What are you thankful for this week? Feel free to share on the comments or link back to your blog!

I'm Blessed:: snow storm adventure

Happy Monday everyone! Today we are blessed with a cancelled day at the University. This was especially awesome for my husband who didn't have to go in and teach 3 classes today. Instead he can stay home and grade all their midterms :) It's nice to have an unexpected day to catch up with everything you've been wanting to do but haven't managed to fit into your already busy days.

On Saturday night, the northeast (where we live) was hit with a snow storm! In october! The new called it "Snowtober." Lol, I couldn't believe it when the flakes started to fall. It really looked like Christmas. And despite everyone freaking out, I loved how beautiful it was.

Yesterday, I went to a Reformation Concert (that my husband performed in) and they did lots of beautiful music with choir and orchestra, including Bach Cantata No. 80 that includes the famous tune "A Mighty Fortress is Our God." Before the concert I dropped him off for rehearsal and went to IKEA since it was only 2 miles away from the church! (LOVE that place) I got a couple of little things that I'll share with you in my post tomorrow. But you can't leave ikea without getting some froyo and a cinnamon bun. oh and coffee. (i mean, the price is just so right!)

I'm linking up with my blogger friend Gretchen from He Sows, She Sews to take a breath at the beginning of our weeks and just think about all that we have that we can be truly thankful for. For more on that, visit her blog if you've got a second.

we got some beautiful snow. 

we woke up on sunday morning to find that someone had dug out our car! how awesome is that?! (it's actually especially awesome for us since we don't have a shovel. we are procrastinators)

I rearranged our living space. it used to look like this.

while it was snowing late saturday night, we watched The Fellowship of the Ring, and I cut out my little bunting that I will use to decorate the food table at the recital for my students this weekend. also, i am wearing my where's waldo sweater that makes me feel extra comfy and quite lucky. ;)

we could actually hang out together and do something weirdly fun- the hubs and i built a domino train design. after we had built it 7 times (knocking it over while it was in progress) we ditched our fancy design and just did this. 

I went for a walk to take pictures and found some downed trees around our neighborhood.

these were actually blocking the main road in front of our place. we are so lucky to not have lost power when most of CT was without power. (over 700,000)

what are you thankful for this week?

:: It's the little things::oct.28

This week we have had the most beautiful weather as well as some really gross stuff going on. Like darkness and rain and little ice pellets (why do I always forget my umbrella during times like these?). Linking up with Lindsey from Aisle to Aloha- recounting the little things that brought joy to our lives this week. Here are a couple of mine:

Before the icky weather set in, Karl and I took a little trip down the road to a park/farm/cool place. This "park" had a mini farm but also a greenhouse, a (large) garden, bee-keeping/hives, a horse, cow, donkey goats, sheep, geese, chickens, lamas, turkeys...(am I forgetting something? oh yes, pigs.) It's really cool because it's a public farm where you can go walk around during certain hours, but there's also a family who lives there and takes care of the animals/keeps a garden/bees/. You can even buy fresh eggs there. Which I think is pretty cool for being in the middle of a city. Oh yes, my camera died after 2 minutes worth of pictures. sorry 'bout that.

not sure why you would want to keep a llama on a farm....milk? wool? anyways, I love how all the animals graze together and get along: llamas, goats, sheep, horse, donkey.... :)

Trader Joes. so love going grocery shopping there. originally went there to get these apples.

ended up getting all this stuff too. i'm not very good with sticking to my grocery list.

I'm especially excited for this stuff: i know i could have made it myself, but it wouldn't have looked this cute.

went on a walk. love crunching leaves underfoot.

(on my walk) found these interesting flowers (?)

sold this headband in my etsy shop this week and shipped it off to croatia! (how fun)

{pretty} bottles {to look at}

  {pretty} smells {for when I've sauteed 100 onions and then must go out in public}

{pretty} hair oil {for everyday that my hair has a life of it's own. which is every.day.}

Happy friday everyone!

It's A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood, No.2

The other day was sooooo beautiful- like how every autumn day should be- and I could not resist taking a walk out in the fresh, crisp air with a cup of coffee to sip on. (and of course, my handy little camera) :) 

I just love days when I can actually afford to take time in the middle of laundry/practicing/cooking/whatever I'm supposed to be doing

 and go out and do something spontaneous. In my college days (haha, I'm so old), I used to do a lot more of that sort of thing. Times are changing, folks, and we're not 19 anymore. ;)

Come join me on my walk through photos!

Here we go: (warning: if you don't like lots of pictures, this post is not for you. but then again, who doesn't like pictures?)

First colorful falling leaf I found. 

 so much red to love............

 this house looks like it was painted especially for autumn- doesn't it??

 there's a law school just a couple blocks away, and I snapped this as I saw it in the distance.

for a little school, it's really nice. seriously, why don't they make buildings like this anymore?

the college even has a community garden. so jealous.

this is probably one of my favorite houses to walk by. i think the roof should have actual thatching on it. 

curved edges? yes, please.

I immediately thought of The Secret Garden when I saw this. I really want to see that movie now.

crunchy leaves littering the sidewalks? totally my favorite.

ready for halloween :)

hope you enjoyed going on a little picture stroll with me!

and feel free to drop by for a cup of tea sometime. really anytime.

*love fall*

:: It's the little things::

Linking up with Lindsey from The Aisle to Aloha for a post on the little things this week that God has blessed my life with to enjoy! As I was looking over the pictures from this week I took to put in this post, I realized they're almost completely of food. I sincerely apologize. Not sure how that happened :)

A bowlful of yummy clementines from trader joe's. it's been such a long time since i've had a flavorful, juicy citrus. ahhhh.

there's a shake shack in connecticut!!!! it's only an hour away, haha. we went there after a concert we played nearby. best burgers and custards!

i finally designed an invitation for my students' upcoming recital. it's a ton different than my original design, but at least the file transfered to my jump drive. (after 6 days of trying with a different design and file) oophf.

we had time to make a real meal this week. and it was yummy: arugula grape salad, ratatouille rice and herbed salmon. 

frozen grapes. we don't always have enough fruit on hand. so freezing is a good way to keep it around longer.

my impromptu lunch. there are some days that I'm just not in the mood to eat anything i've had in the past week. so i've got to throw something weird i've never had before together. sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.  this was preeety good. toasted  homemade bread with melted cheese drizzled with olive oil, arugula, red onion, salt, pepper and dill.