Tomato Bisque

 For years I have watched people eat tomato soup from a can. It sickened me. They open this familiar red can and pour milk on it. Not my idea of a good meal. I would guess its the easy that they seek, this instant comfort food, tomato soup and grilled cheese. From a can not. I remember when Safeway came out with the Safeway Select Tomato Bisque. It is wonderful. But it is made with chicken stock, so as a vegetarian I had to find this bliss 100% vegetarian. So I made my own. It was better then the store. It is pretty simple and a instant gratification of comfort.

Ingredients
2tbsp butter
2 stalks of celery
2 carrots
1onion
1 clove of garlic
2c cherry or grape tomatoes
olive oil
32oz vegetable or chicken stock 
2 sprigs fresh basil leaves
1 tsp fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1c cream
Garlic Salt & P

Method
In a medium saute pan saute your celery, carrots, garlic, and onion with the butter until softened and a little browned. 

 In the meantime roast your tomatoes with olive oil in a 350°oven for 15-20 min until well  cooked add the tomatoes and olive oil to the sauteed veggies.

Let the veggies simmer with the tomatoes and then add your spices, bay leaf and  vegetable stock. Cook to simmer. If you like a little bite add a tsp of cayenne pepper flakes, to make it a little spicy.

 

Remove the bay leaf, then use an electric blender or hand held to puree your soup to a smooth blend.

 Add cream and check spices to your taste. Serve with grilled cheese sandwiches, or grilled cheese croutons!

Jolly Green Pasta

This pasta is a new variation on my green pasta recipe. It is a very good way to sneak veggies on your kids. Mine ate at least 3 servings of this. It was delish.

Ingredients
1c c fresh or frozen chopped spinach
1c kale
1/2 c fresh basil
3tblsp fresh Parmesan Cheese
1/4c olive oil
Hand full of Pine Nuts
2cloves garlic
Salt to taste
1 pkg bow tie pasta

Method
In a food processor Blend together all ingredients except pasta. Add enough oil to make a good pesto consistency. Cook pasta. While pasta cooks, in a saute pan heat about 2tbsp of olive oil, add pesto mixture and heat, add garlic salt to taste. Toss with pasta and add a generous amount of Fresh Parmesan cheese.