I think this picture says it all. Bread makes me frown.
I’ll never forget the day that I was diagnosed with celiac disease, back in good old 2002. Stomach problems had been my nemesis for quite some time, and after college I had a new doctor who was all holistic and earthy crunchy and thought it would be smart to test me for this little known gremlin called celiac disease. Now, this was before the days of Uno’s Pizzeria having a gluten free menu and people wanting to go gluten free in order to shed their baby weight. I had never heard of it. Most people had never heard of it. As far as I knew, my life was over.
I cried for a long time that day. Sure, there were some tears of happiness. I had finally figured out that something was wrong with me! For years, my Dad was convinced that I was just nervous all the time and that’s why I felt like I was going to hurl 22 hours out of the day. So I was glad to learn that these feelings of nausea were not just in my head. However, as the doctor explained the strict diet, it felt like I was being marched to the gluten free guillotine. I saw all my favorite foods flash before my eyes. Sandwiches, pasta, cakes, cookies...I nearly fainted with despair. I cried because my family was such a food family; and now I was the leper exiled to the island of salads and rice.
The Gluten Free Desert Isle of Shame
Ok, I’ll stop with the metaphors. But seriously, not the best day of my life. However, as I look back on that day and then at my current stellar gluten free self, I don’t hold a lot of regrets. Sure, the first few years were rocky. Sure, I hate to eat whilst traveling and hate when people put croutons on my salad even though I explicitly say BREAD WILL KILL ME SO NO CROUTONS PLEASE. Overall, I like my diet. It allows me to eat better and savor the gift that is real honest to god food. As far as I am concerned, store bought and pre-packaged food is for suckers. Food that you make with your own hands is far more fulfilling, both for your stomach and your heart. (By the way, I’m totally submitting that line to Hallmark so that they can make sympathy cards for people with food allergies.)
My ex BFF
This brings me to the theme of this post; food nostalgia! So occasionally I will get some feeling of yore for those foods that I used to eat when I was “all about gluten” or let us acronym it to AAG! Just like how a former disco diva will look longingly at a feathered boa, platform shoes, and Tang laced with cocaine; I too often crave the good old days!
The other day, the weather suddenly turned cold. It was raining, I wasn’t sweating just walking around, AND I wore pants to work for the first time in like 12 years. Back when I was AAG, rainy days meant one thing; Campbell’s tomato soup! Oh, I have such fond memories of opening those sweet little red labeled cans after school, and plopping that orange/red blob into a soup pan. Sure, the can said to just add “water”, but that seemed really gross to me at the time. I was all about creamy tomato soup, so like any seasoned canned food chef, I spruced it up with half milk and half Half & Half. Now that I think about it that seems a bit redundant. Half and Half IS half milk and half cream. I guess I didn't know that then. Whoops. So after the tomato and cream mixture had come together, I would throw in some cheese and maybe a few goldfish crackers, and I was set to watch the rain come trickling down, happily slurping my soup. Oh, I wish I had savored those days; I never thought there would come a time when I wouldn't ever be able to eat that soup again.
Fast-forward to 2011. Campbell’s tomato soup contains wheat flour. I’m sure it also contains about 4 days worth of your recommended sodium intake, so in all honesty, I’m glad I was forced to give it the ole heave-ho. When I rehashed my Campbell soup dreams to my little sis, she told me that I wasn’t missing much. That the soup tastes too acidic to be enjoyable. So strike three---Campbell’s Tomato Soup is OUT.
So as the old saying goes, "If you can't beat them, then make a really delicious substitution sans wheat!"
I was pleasantly surprised to find that homemade tomato soup is about as easy as can be. Actually, I've learned over the years that pureed soups in general are a very easy meal to make. They are relatively simple, require a small number of ingredients, and can be put together in a decent amount of time. They also don’t require a lot of brain-power to concoct. The formula is nearly identical for every pureed soup you will make. It goes something like this:
Roast or sauté veggies
+ stock + puree in blender
+ add cream or milk
= delicious soup that warms the soul
The end of summer is my absolute favorite time of the year at my local farmer’s market. Why? Because this is when the heirloom tomatoes are out in full force! I love sauntering (I always sauntering at the farmer’s market!) over to my favorite stand to pick through the various red, orange, and yellow globes of goodness. I love how they are imperfect, full of little knobs and almost always misshapen; like they are the scrappy siblings of the perfect little vine ripened tomatoes you see at the grocery store. I also enjoy all their different sizes, some are HUGE and some are petite and dainty. Here’s what you’ll need for the soup.
heirlooms, heirlooms everywhere
4 or 5 large tomatoes, preferably from a really classy farmer’s market
1 medium onion, cut into wedges
4 or 5 garlic cloves, mashed but whole
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Red pepper flakes, optional
1.5 cups of stock, chicken or veggie
1 T tomato paste
Basil, thyme, oregano (optional)
½ cup half and half or cream
Once I got home, I roughly cut up all my tomatoes, while taking out some of the seeds and juiciness. Whenever I roast tomatoes sometimes the juice leaks out and then burns on the roasting pan, so if you take out some of the seeds and juice to start, this curbs the juice factor a little. I also added some chopped onion - make the pieces big to match the tomatoes - and some whole garlic cloves. Then I shook a ton of olive oil on it, and doused it all with salt and pepper and a bit of red pepper flakes; my favorite secret ingredient!
this looks WAY better than that can shaped muckety muck that comes out of those Campbell's soup cans!
Roast the tomatoes for about 20-25 minutes; you want them sort of tender, but not totally disintegrated. Then place roasted tomatoes in a stock pot and add your stock, some herbs if you got them, and a bit of tomato paste. Cook for another 10 minutes or so, then transfer the contents of your stock pot to a blender and puree. Puree to your desired thickness, and then return to your pot. Over low heat, add your half and half or cream and stir to combine. Prepare to slurp!
Pick your puree! Also this reminds me of that scene from Goonies!
"I want to play the violin!!"
Did this replacement for my beloved Campbell’s make the grade? You bet your sweet bippy! Instead of tasting mostly salt and manufactured tomato taste, this soup tastes like a farm; a farm with rainbows and sunshine and little kittens running around it. You might think that would taste weird, but it doesn’t. It’s delicious. So make it. You will thank me later.
Homemade Tomato Soup tastes like Organic Rainbows
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