Ah-mazing Tomato Soup made from our Chicago Garden Tomatoes

Ah-mazingly Delicious Tomatoe Soup because our Tomatoes are Coming in. I was sad a month ago when it seemed we'd have none! However my cherry tomatoes and the large yellow and black ones are all ripening. A mix of these variety gives the soup a delicious taste. Bon Apetit! 

Tomato Soup Ingredients

2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil 

1 Tbs. unsalted butter 

1 large white onion, finely chopped 

1 large clove garlic, smashed and peeled 

2 Tbs. all-purpose flour 

3 cups lower-salt chicken broth 

28-oz. can whole peeled plum tomatoes, puréed (include the juice) **

1-1/2 tsp. sugar 

1 sprig fresh thyme 

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 

3 Tbs. thinly sliced fresh basil, chives, or dill, or a mixture of all three (omit if using one of the garnishes below) 

Tip: If you don;t have an immersion blender (get one, because otherwise you have to) be sure to purée in small batches and crack the blender lid slightly (or remove the center cap from the lid). Steam can build up once you start blending, and if the lid is on tight or the blender is overfilled, it will spray hot soup all over you and your kitchen. For protection, cover the top with a dishtowel while puréeing. 

**We used our FRESH Tomatoes from the garden. A wide variety this year too.
 


In a nonreactive 5- to 6-quart Dutch oven, heat the oil and butter over medium-low heat until the butter melts. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft but not browned, about 8 minutes. Add the flour and stir to coat the onion and garlic. > > Add the broth, tomatoes, sugar, thyme, and 1/4 tsp. each salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat while stirring the mixture to make sure that the flour is not sticking to the bottom of the pan. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 40 minutes. 

Discard the thyme sprig. Let cool briefly and then purée in two or three batches in a blender or food processor. Rinse the pot and return the soup to the pot. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Reheat if necessary. Serve warm but not hot, garnished with the herbs or dolloped with one of the garnishes below. 

Make Ahead Tips: This soup stores beautifully and tastes better the second day. You can keep it in the refrigerator as long as you bring it to a boil every two days. Or you can stash it in the freezer for up to three months. 

Serving Suggestions:

 To add a creamy touch, try one of these garnishes: 

Serve w grilled cheese. 

Sour cream, goat cheese & Parmesan garnish: In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup sour cream with 1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese. Add 1 Tbs. freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, 1 Tbs. thinly sliced chives, and 1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil. Mix thoroughly and season to taste with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add a dollop to each serving. 

Crème fraîche, herb & horseradish garnish: In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup crème fraîche with 1 Tbs. minced fresh dill and 1 Tbs. minced scallion. Add 1/2 Tbs. well-drained prepared white horseradish and mix well. Season to taste with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add a dollop to each serving. 

Nutrition information (per serving): 

Calories (kcal): 110; Fat (g): fat g 5; Fat Calories (kcal): 50; Saturated Fat (g): sat fat g 1.5; Protein (g): protein g 3; Monounsaturated Fat (g): 3; Carbohydrates (g): carbs g 11; Polyunsaturated Fat (g): 0.5; Sodium (mg): sodium mg 430; Cholesterol (mg): cholesterol mg 5; Fiber (g): fiber g 2; 

Make Mistakes, breathe, reflect and Laugh.Out.Loud.

Poem: Making Mulch

Making Mulch

City living,

Requires More creative thinking.

A compost pile is easy to start,

And all it takes is a part,

In your yard where you can,

Make the food to Feed your garden.

Find a place that's outta the way,

But easily accessible on a snowy day. 

Making mulch can be a year round task,

Think of the reward your commitment won't be crass.

First, use a chicken wire net,

Then, shape a circle, that's the easiest bet.

No digging is required, 

Maybe a small staketo keep higher.

Then remember to fold the top in,

Otherwise you'll getta new frien'.

This big guy will be your doom,

Since he'll eat your gold, in the tummy of the raccoon.

by: Areyousureaboutthatblog Author
Not Authorized for Reproduction Without Permission

Make Mistakes. Breath, Reflect. and Laugh.Out.Loud

Gardening Necessity: A Winter Spent Collecting Egg shells and BIG HUGE Tomatoes as my Reward

Gardening Necessity: A Winter Spent Collecting Egg shells and BIG HUGE Tomatoes, a photo by areyousureaboutthatblog on Flickr.

I am an avid city gardener. We are on a slightly oversized Chicago lot. With plenty of room for a veggie garden, flower beds, compost pile, dog poop compost, and a kids play area on wood chips.

Over the winter months I still compost, throwing our scraps outdoors. However my egg shells are broken into smaller pieces and kept in a container until their ready to be used in my tomato garden. This year I'll also be adding fish heads (or shrimp peelings), yes really. Supposedly the nutrition provided to the plant from compost, eggs shells as fish scraps is tremendous.

More to come!

Summer Bucket List 2013 (with Chicagoland Area Web Page Links)

After finding lots of great ideas on Pinterest, and creating a MUST DO board for the kids, we finally sat down and wrote our Summer Bucket List. We did a lot of impromptu stuff this summer too - like the Waukegan Library Book Sale a friend posted about on Facebook. Instead of paying .50 cents per kids book and $1 for adults, I got a Big Red Bag of books for $5.

We did put the effort into actually writing out a Summer Bucket List and I like Sharing. At the end of this post is an update with a list of what we actually did, things not on the list, and moms tasks in addition to the list. We didn't craft nearly as much as we usually do either, because we were outside nearly EVERYDAY!!

2013, oUR family summer bucket list

       GO PLACES

□     BEACH!!                                           □     Go to the park (A LOT!!)

□     Water Park (A LOT!!!)                    □     Go bowling

□     Nature hunt (s)                                  □     Alphabet Scavenger hunt

□     Shapes Scavenger Hunt                    □     Have a picnic

□     See movie at a drive in                       □     Santa’s Village

□     Go to A Farm (Glenview)                  □     Wild West Town

□     Museum Days 

AT NIGHT

□        Catch fire flies                                  □        Use the Telescope in the Yard

□        Roast Marshmallows

COLLECT

□     Collect Bottle Caps to make an end of summer Mosaic

□     Bugs, Rocks, Feathers, and …

AT HOME OUTDOORS

□     !! Make JAPAN Paper Ring Chain Countdown !!

□     Grill dinner once a week                 □     Make recycled water pouring wall (pinterest)

□     Make Giant Ice Cube filled with plastic toys to CHIP APART

□     Roast Marshmallows                       □     Blow bubbles (Bubble Station)

□     Eat ice cream and popcorn for dinner

□     Outdoor Alphabet hunt                  □     Exploding Paint – make ART BOMBS

□     Make Bird Bath Mosaic                  □     Block Party

RAINY DAYS

□     Make Stained Glass: Draw Sharpie on wax paper looks like stained glass

□     Build a fort                                       □     Balloon Ninjas to shoot with Nerf Guns

□     Make Hands/Foot Paint Animals    

□     Make Hotwheels race track with drawn race course and tube

□     Make Jet packs from Soda Bottles  

□     Make GEO BOARD (Pegboard w rubber bands)

□     Bake Cookies!!!                                □     Make Fingerprint Ornmnt

□     Move Chalk board to kitchen (Keep family menus on)

□     Paint pebbles/rocks with glow in the dark paint to line the garden/walkway

□     Make MOONSAND                      □     Indoor ALPHABET HUNT

□     Make VOLCANO ERUPTIONS  

□     Make the Outdoor TIC TAC TOE from rocks and wood

□     IVORY SNOW Cloud                   □     Wii, & iPad 

*** UPDATE *** UPDATE *** UPDATE *** UPDATE *** UPDATE *** 

BEACH

We went to the beach a lot. While my mom had the kids during our trip to Japan. They were at the beach nearly every day, sometimes 2x a day. 

ü  Loyola Beach

ü  Indiana Dunes

ü  Boogie Boards at Waukegan Beach

ü  Loyola Beach with our Cousins

GO PLACES

ü  Go to Parks –  a different park each Wednesday with our Cousins (splash pads, climbing gyms), our neighborhood park and surrounding parks, bicycling to the school park, and with Uncle Bogie.

ü  Water Park – only 1x because it was such a cool summer. But we did slip and slide with our neighborhood friends and in the yard. We also had a splash water fight with Dja Dja in his yard.

ü  Nature Hunt – when we were at the Nature Center with our Cousins we did this nature hunt. Totally Fun!  While at the Spring Valley Schaumburg Nature Center (so awesome, includes a ½ hour walk to a mini farm) our cousins granola bar was stolen by a Chicken there.

ü  Have a picnic – everywhere we go for a DAY outing I pack our (found in the alley) California Wheel Cooler with food and we picnic.

ü  Kohl’s Children’s Museum – purchased at 50% off with Travelzoo.com, great deal. Paid $19.50 for two instead of per person.

ü  Roast Marshmallows – with our Tia

ü  Brookfield Zoo and Lincoln Park Zoo (and picnic’s)

ü  2 weeks with Baba – went to Fair Oaks Dairy Farm, saw pigs and cows galore

ü  Glenview Wagner Farm – love this place.

COLLECT

ü  Bugs. We collect dead bugs and pin them. I collected Bugs in Japan and at home.

ü  Rocks at the beach and everywhere else.

AT HOME / OUTDOORS

ü  Make Japan Paper Ring Countdown Chain – read about it.

ü  Make GIANT ICE CUBE PICKER – filled with toys and rocks for the kids to destroy. From Pinterest

ü  Bubble Station – from Pinterest

ü  Build a fort – on rainy days.

ü  Make Hand and Foot Print animals – for fathers day – here’s the result.

ü  Played Wii – only 2x

We did one 2 crafts this summer, the Japan Countdown chain and Telescopes from Toilet Paper Tubes.

Not on the List

ü  On the FIRST DAY OF SUMMER we went to our local library. And to my pleasant surprise they had started the book club THAT DAY. So we joined up….Library Book Club – we joined our library’s book club. We read EVERYDAY this summer, alone, to eachother, and at night time! I AM PROUDEST OF READING EVERYDAY THIS SUMMER!!!

ü  Lake County Fair with Dad

ü  Bike Riding with mom and dad in the Forest, using the bike attachment for Baby boy and Girl to ride in.

ü  My older son chose “an experience” for his birthday instead of a party. We had dinner at “a fancy” restaurant and cake at home at my mom’s in Indiana. Older Sons birthday gift hunt and Trampoline Hunt/Map – see more here

ü  Got Geodes to crack open from our Uncle’s Trip to Colorado with his Cross Country Track Team

ü  Movie and Cookies and Ice Cream with Ciocia Jola, just because

ü  Pirates Cove Amusement Park (and we picnic’d) $11 per child and baby girl was free (they thought she was under 1).

ü  Wicker Park fest, where we grew radish and pinto beans using hydroponic gardening - we used a clear glove instead of the jar. Later these were planted at Baba's house. (This summer, families can watch plants grow without soil in a hydroponic garden)

We also made red current jam from our garden berries (and with frozen mixed berries). We gardened, planted carrots, tomatoes, pumpkins and a few flowers...

Mom actually planned the 4th Annual Block Party this year, booking the jump house, obtaining the permit, and buying kids crafts to paint, bead, and tattoo ourselves to no end.

I also was able to spray paint some ugly gold frames we had to display dads Fathers Day present of the kids hand and foot print animals (Pinterest Inspired). So glad that's done.

So it looks like I am keeping this list for next year. We actually completed about half of the list.....which means we can look forward to have a lot more fun in our future.

The Days are long, but the years are short....Make Mistakes, Breath and Laugh.Out.Loud