Kitchen Culture

I'm a firm believer that culture begins in the kitchen. Last evening, I visited with a young man who was enthusiastically detailing his Grandmother's cooking. He said her food is so good, he sometimes CRIES when he eats it! All the while we conversed he was expressing his gratefulness to her. This is love made tangible, and what wonderful memories this Grandmama has created!

My cooking has never elicited such a dramatic response, but then I'm not a Grandma yet! I aspire to develop such talent.

Here's my humble offering for this week. The grocery store where I shop had big bags of tomatoes, slightly over-ripe, on sale for $1.99. No, they were not contaminated. I've been making a lot of BLTs this week, as well as using them sliced with cottage cheese. Tonight I have made my favorite soup recipe, which I share here. Though I usually make it in the winter, it's also appropriate for a light summer supper. Here it is:

Creamy Tomato Herb Soup

1 T. butter
1 med. onion, chopped
1 large clove of garlic, crushed
1/2 t. salt
fresh chopped rosemary, or 1/2 t. dried
fresh chopped basil, or 1/2 t. dried
1 8-oz. can tomato sauce
2 c. chopped tomatoes
1 T. honey
4 oz. cream cheese (low fat works fine)
1 c. vegetable stock
finely chopped parsley to taste

In soup pot, cook onions and garlic in butter until onions are soft and translucent. Add the herbs and saute a few minutes more. Your kitchen will have an irresistible fragrance at this point!

Whir the cream cheese with tomato sauce and honey in the blender until smooth. Add this to the soup pot.

Next, add the chopped tomatoes and the vegetable stock.

Heat through.

Serve with chopped parsley and fat croûtons as a garnish.

Makes about 6 servings.