Tuesday, September 7, 2010

You say tomato and I say tomato......

Yeah!!!! After not one frickin' tomato last summer, we are now inundated! 

Anyone have a good recipe for spaghetti sauce?
I have a good recipe for tomato soup, which Mr. Downeastdoingstuff (pictured above) has, for some reason, taken on as his specialty. He has one other specialty...... Zucchini bread. 

I told him, "if you could follow directions for cooking/baking these two delish items, you can basically cook anything."

"Heck", I told him, " you cook everything from now on and I will select 2 things that will be my specialty!"

He said, "No."

I said, "Yea, you can."

He still said, "Nope."

So that's it. I'll gladly munch on his two specialties.
Tomato Soup

(I'm pretty sure this recipe came from a prehistoric edition of Bon Appetit.)


~3 Tbsp vegetable oil
~1 medium onion, finely chopped
~2 lbs. ripe tomatoes, (unpeeled), sliced
~1 Tbsp tomato paste
~1 bay leaf
~1/2 tsp finely chopped garlic
~2 tsp cornstarch
~3 C chicken stock. (He uses 2 cans of College Inn lower sodium chicken broth.)
~black pepper (recipe says freshly ground, but then, all recipes seem to say that.)
~herb salt. (or whatever)
~1 medium tomato, peeled, seeded and cut julienne. (He doesn't usually do this.)
~1 Tbsp fine chopped fresh parsley (He uses dry parsley.)
~1 Tbsp fine chopped chives
~1 tsp honey

-Heat 3 tbsp OIL in a 4 Qt. saucepan over medium heat. Add ONION and cook til translucent.
(most of my kids in school don't know the meaning of this word.) Add all the sliced TOMATO and cook 3 minutes. Stir in TOMATO PASTE, BAY LEAF, and GARLIC.  Cover and cook 10 minutes, stirring often.
-Transfer mixture to food processor and puree. Return puree to saucepan. Combine CORNSTARCH and 1 tbsp OIL in a small bowl. Stir into puree. Add STOCK and bring to boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low and simmer 10 minutes. Season with PEPPER and HERB SALT. Stir in julienne TOMATO, PARSLEY, CHIVES and HONEY.

(Mr. DEDS always DOUBLES this recipe because, to be frank, it makes a piss poor amount otherwise, IMO.)

*******You know what? I know he uses a food mill somewhere in this recipe because I always have to wash one. Maybe after the food processor? Maybe to get out the skins and seeds? Who knows? So. use one somewhere......

I always make RICE and mix it in just before serving. Serve with some crusty bread and it's a great meal.

Enjoy.


16 comments:

Birdman said...

Bon Appetit????? Never hear of it. Is it some sort of car? Maybe a mountain range? BTW, I always wash the food mill when I'm done. You musta been dreamin again. Don't forget my 'to die for' ZUCCHINI COOKIES. Number #1 son survived on for four years in Bloomington!... and those martinis??? Huh? They are in a food group for sure. How about my lucious cheeseburgers? You've NEVER complained about them. I think you better rethink your post

Anonymous said...

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/cooking-live/vita-grecos-gravy-recipe/index.html

Best pasta sauce if you're nowhere near Ralphie's in Salem, NH...

Unknown said...

Sounds like good stuff!

Balisha said...

My mouth is watering... Balisha

Anonymous said...

Laughing away here, while seriously taking note of your ingredients and methods. Love that recipe and all the fun surrounding it.

JoAnn ( Scene Through My Eyes) said...

Love the recipe - and the conversation about he can cook other stuff. Don used to cook when he had a job that required it (not a chef though) but he can't cook a thing at home - can't even make a sandwich - poor ol' guy. I guess it is the pitiful part that gets him his food made for him by others ( ME). I keep telling him that he needs something to do when he retires in 6 years - and cooking would be just the thing. I could really get some quilting done then, if he cooked everything. He says no - but I've got 6 years to convince him. :-)

Traveling Bells said...

I want some of that!

brattcat said...

Please, sir, I want some more...

Debbie said...

Love to see a man cooking, especially one with a cool hat on! Why don't they realize that it is really pretty sexy to watch them cook? My husband taught me how to make a kick ass spaghetti sauce. Once I got it down pat, he stopped making it and now claims he can't cook at all!! How convenient! Honestly, he would also be a great cook. He is so neat and orderly with the chopping, and then color coordinating the chopped veggies....which are placed in their own little bowls all lined up on the counter! It's really amazing to watch! I am pretty impressed that Birdman would make a recipe including a food mill. I don't even own one! I wish I did. I actually borrowed one from a friend to make something a couple years ago! You can find them at yard sales pretty regularly....I must get one of those. Anyway...that soup looks delicious....love the addition of the rice by you at the end....I would do that too...love reading your description of the whole thing including the recipe! You're hilarious and I love it when Birdman comments on your blog! You two are the cutest couple!! :)

Kathleen said...

My husband dosen't cook. I wish I had a husband that would cook one day a week...is that asking for too much? Oh well, we all have our strenghts and weaknesses.

Diary From Africa said...

I have enjoyed sitting for the past 20 mins or so reading back on your recent posts I've missed. So sorry to hear about your Mum (hope she is okay now ?) & your awful overnight stay at the airport - poor you ! Loved your (hubby's) soup recipe .... seeing Princess & The Pea on a stack of cushions .... and a gorgeous yellow ball loving lab ... lovely stick vase ... & blackberries .... mmmm ... oh and I did exactly the same (refused to watch 'LOST' then due to persistent nagging by my sister, relented and bought the series and was HOOKED !) ... have watched to end of Season 5 and awaiting Season 6 here in Africa .... love it, love it, love it ! Also wanted to say ... I went into the city this week with your parcel in hand to post - ran out of time - brought it back to the farm with me - and hope to have it off to you soon ... will let you know ! (Sorry for the delay !)

Deb Shucka said...

Yum! With fall's early arrival here, that soup is the perfect thing. You're so lucky to have a guy who specializes in even two kitchen things. :-)

Sharon Creech said...

Am not a tomato soup fan, but I love your commentary!

Debbie said...

Where are you my friend? Away on vacation again????

Diary From Africa said...

Hi Elenka ;) I just wanted to let you know that I finally posted your parcel to you on Monday this week (13th September). I hope it doesn't take too long to reach you all the way from Africa - let me know when you get it ! (Sorry, had a computer problem & lost your email address) Bye for now, Lynda

Teri and her Stylish Adventure Cats said...

Oh, Bon Appetit...My mom has stacks of them in her garage. I loved how they used to have recipes from restaurants so you could attempt to make something you enjoyed at a special place, right at home...

I cook so little these days but love a good bbq-steak, chicken doesn't matter what. I found some veggie mixes I really love, too from Alexia called Select Sides.

http://www.alexiafoods.com/images/product_images/Select-Sides.pdf

For someone who 'really' cooks, this might seem like a cop-out, but it's not really 'fast food' lol.