As I walk through the neighborhood, I love to look through the fences and see gardens that are growing. It’s amazing how talented the neighbors are. My favorite plant to see coming up tomatoes!
I had a beautiful garden last year and many of you that know me, also know that I am moving to Alaska in 3 weeks. Therefore, no garden here in Utah. I am excited to grow microgreens in Alaska and to see what we might still be able to grow in and out of the greenhouse this summer.
Tomatoes are one of my favorite foods and especially home grown tomatoes. Tomatoes are packed full of nutrition. These benefits include: cancer prevention in controlling the abnormal cells. Tomatoes help in heart health including heart attacks.
The health benefits also include eye care, good stomach health, and reduced blood pressure. They may also provide relief from skin problems, and urinary tract infections, and may aid in the reduction of risk of diabetes. A single tomato gives you 40% of the daily recommended allowance of vitamin C.
As your tomatoes will soon be ready to harvest, here are a couple of fresh tomato soup recipes. They are both delicious yet very different in flavor. The first recipe is flavored with pasta and basil and a touch of milk.
The second soup is packed with extra protein of beans and a wonderful rosemary flavor along with homemade croutons.
Both soups sauté the garlic and onion in oil and this releases the most delicious flavors when slow cooking tomatoes and herbs. Try them both out and maybe you’ll be like me and both recipes will win your heart.
I love summer and I love food that tells a story and makes memories. This Summer Skillet Rolls recipe is just that. Summers are filled with friends, family, and laughter. I remember so many summer Saturday late afternoon/evening get togethers with buffets of food. Kids splashing in the pool, fresh cold lemonade, and great music. Of course this was all pre-Covid. Now that we can have get togethers again, it’s time to make memories during the beautiful days of summer. A pot of delicious pulled pork or chicken salad pair wonderfully with these rolls.
With summer quickly approaching, our lives are filled with family activities, laughter, and making memories. In my family we always use our scraps from the garden to make soup stock. Our Summertime Stock Up!
Dinner time is a great time to reconnect as a family after a day of activities. I used to think of soup as a winter or cold weather meal.
Soup is one of the most comforting foods to the soul. This past year, I made a goal to master soups. My soups were always too thick, no flavor, or just a plain flop.
After doing a lot of research and studying and plain pondering over recipes, I found that a good soup starts with a good foundation.
This foundation is stock or broth. I use the best ingredients available and love the mixture of slow cooked vegetables, herbs, and seasonings that blend flavors into rich chicken stock or vegetable broth.
Traditionally a stock uses bones and broth does not, but I will use the terms interchangeably.
Delicious vegetable soups will spotlight your garden harvest. What a great application of sustainable living as well as sharing with our children and grandchildren where our food comes from.
Last summer, I was invited to dinner with some dear friends and we had stew and home cooked bread on the patio as sun was starting to set.
Again, that stew was a comfort food and I hope that as you try soups even in the summer, you will have that comfort and hygge feeling that brings contentment and happiness to your soul.
With the stock that I am going to share with you, just yesterday I made a chicken noodle soup along with home baked bread and a fresh salad that created a wonderful luncheon memory with my mother. Make a memory that will last a lifetime.
Soups warm not only your tummy but your heart and soul.
