Have tons of tomatoes? Try Homemade Tomato Soup with Basil

A recipe I've posted before, but with tomato plants bursting with fresh, ripe, tomatoes it's the perfect time to remind everyone of this simple, yet delicious and healthy soup.   Tomatoes are so good for you and paired with a grilled cheese sandwich, you have a meal even kids love.  The fresh taste of a homemade tomato soup beats the pants off the canned versions.

 
Homemade Tomato Soup

1/2 stick of butter (about 4 tablespoons)
1 T oil
3/4 c sweet onion, diced
5-6 cups worth of tomato puree (approximately)
1-2 basil leaves, ripped or diced
1/3 c flour
1 3/4 - 2 cups chicken broth (bouillon, homemade or canned)
2 T sugar
1 1/2 c milk
salt and pepper to taste

In a large saucepan, heat the butter and vegetable oil over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until soft and translucent. Add the tomatoes and basil. Simmer about 10 minutes. 

Combine the flour into the broth and whisk or beat with a fork until smooth.  Add to the soup, stirring constantly. Simmer on low 10-15 minutes.  Add the sugar, milk and salt and pepper.  Heat through and serve.

*Note:  If you are using fresh tomatoes, plunge them into a pot of boiling water for 1 minute, then into cold water and slip the skin off before chopping up and adding them to your blender to puree.  If you are using canned, diced tomatoes you have the choice of blending them smoother OR leave them chunky for a soup with body.  If you are using puree from a can, no need to use a blender at all.

After plunging the tomatoes in boiling water and cold, the skin will slip right off!

Fresh tomatoes and basil from the garden

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Oster 5-Cup Glass Jar - 2-Speed Beehive Blender

Sfogliatelle (sometimes known as a lobster tail or clam shell pastry)

Last week I was thinking about making Sfogliatelle. A thin, flaky pastry with a ricotta cheese filling that is sometimes called a 'lobster tail' or 'clam shell' pastry in America since some of us struggle with the traditional Italian name.

In the end, I got busy and had to put this on the back-burner of my 'to do' list and didn't make it, then, to be honest, forgot about it. The funny thing is, this morning I was doing a quick search of my site for a sandwich recipe and landed on a page that featured this post from July, 2008.

This is a rather labor intensive recipe because the dough has to be very, very thin. But that is the only 'hard' part of it. I also like my pastry to be more vanilla and less cinnamon and orange but that is just a personal preference.

Sfogliatelle

1 c water
1/2 c ricotta cheese
1 pinch salt
1/2 c confectioner's (powdered) sugar
1/2 c semolina
1 1/4 c flour
6 oz. butter
2 oz. sugna, strutto or lard
1 pinch cinnamon
3 oz. candied orange peel, diced
1 egg yolk

Bring the water to a boil, add a pinch of salt and pour in the semolina, stirring so as not to form lumps. Cook, stirring for about 8 minutes, stirring constantly. Let cool.

Make a mound with the flour and use your fingers to make a hole in the center. Put in the well, half of the butter, a pinch of salt and as much water as necessary to knead the dough to a smooth and elastic consistency. Wrap the dough in a towel and let rest for an hour.

Mix the ricotta with the semolina, 6 tablespoons of the sugar, a pinch of cinnamon and the candied orange peel. Roll out the pastry with a rolling pin to obtain a very large rectangle, 1/16-in. thick and about 2 feet (24 inches) across and 18 inches in height. Cut the pastry vertically into 4 strips and place one on top of the other, brushing each one with melted butter. Let rest for half an hour, and then roll up the stack of dough.

Slice the roll into 10 equal pieces with a very sharp, floured knife. Place the pieces on the pastry board and roll them gently with the rolling pin, first vertically, in an upward direction, and then in a downwards direction, to give them an oval shape.

Turn the ovals over, place a bit of ricotta filling in the middle of each one, brush the edges with egg yolk, then fold the dough over and press to seal. Brush the sfogliatelle with melted shortening and place on parchment paper greased with butter. Bake at 425ºF for 20 minutes, and remove from the oven. Brush with melted butter again, lower the temperature to 350ºF and bake for another 20 minutes. Let cool, sprinkle with confectioner's sugar and serve.

Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Thumbprint Cookies

Photo from Sunset

This morning I opened up my blog files to see I have 225 recipes still in 'draft' mode that I have intended on posting to my online collection at some point over the past 7 years but haven't.  Let's make it 224 by posting this one that has been gathering dust so to speak.

A chocolate thumbprint cookie with a peanut butter filling.  For those that don't want to use your thumb to make the indentation, just use the back of a small teaspoon or even the end of a wooden spoon. 



Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Thumbprint Cookies

1 1/2 c flour
1 c. sugar
1/3 c cocoa
1 c peanut butter
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/3 c margarine
1/4 t salt
1 1/2 t vanilla
2 c chocolate chips
2 eggs

Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt in small bowl. Melt 1 cup chips in the microwave or in a saucepan over the lowest possible heat till smooth.

Beat sugar, 1/3 cup peanut butter and butter and vanilla in a large bowl, until creamy. Beat in melted chocolate, add eggs one at a time. beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in remaining chips. Cover and chill just until firm.

Shape dough into 1 1/2 inch balls. Place on ungreased baking sheets. Press 1/2" deep centers with thumb. Fill each center with about 1/2 teasspoon peanut butter.

Bake in preheated 350° F. oven about 10-15 minutes or until sides are set but centers are still slightly soft. Let stand for 2 minutes.

Remove to wire racks to cool completely.  You should be able to get about 32 cookies from this.

Healthy Low Carb, Sugar Free Berry Muffins (blueberry and blackberry)

A few weeks ago my husband was mowing and happened to glance into the heavy brush we let grow on our property to give us privacy and help as a sound barrier.  He spied something red, and a second glance made him smile.  He came up to the house and told me to slip some shoes on, he had something to show me.

In this jungle of briars, prickly thorns, ticks and overgrowth lives..... blackberries!  Well, they are trying to anyway.

 

Neither of us remember seeing them last year but we've been told that the best way to get raspberries and blackberries to grow is to completely cut them down in the fall.  Well, we did cut down a lot of brush last year and then this year just let it grow back nice and thick.  Apparently it worked.  

Since they've been so neglected they are not a nice, healthy, heavy harvest... but enough to make me want to make them into muffins!  I managed to gather a little baggy full and with a few more blueberries thrown in to make a good 3/4 cup of berries I was good to go.   Now, I don't however have a good low carb muffin mix.  I've made a few versions in the past but I don'[t have a 'go to' recipe for them so I'm still playing around.  And that my friends is what I just finished doing.  The end result?  LOVED them.  If you want to give this a go, add up your carbs as you go using whatever brand ingredients you use.  The results are vast as there is no one standard for different protein powders, etc.  Add a little more sweetener if you like.  You can also mix some Erthritol or Splenda with a little cinnamon and sprinkle on top before baking!

Blueberry (or whatever berry you like) Muffins

1/2 c heavy cream or sour cream

1/3 c oil

2 eggs

1 t vanilla

1/2 c vanilla protein powder

1/4 c oat flour

1 T vital wheat gluten

1/2 t baking soda

1 1/2 t baking powder

1 1/2  t sugar free honey (optional)

1/4 t cinnamon

1/3 c Splenda

liquid sweetener drops of your choice to taste

3/4 c (approximate)  berries (blueberries and blackberries!)

1/4 c almond flour or oat flour to dust the berries

Oven:  preheat to 350.  In a bowl whisk the cream with oil, eggs, vanilla.  Add the dry ingredients, honey and liquid sweetener.  Mix with a wooden spoon.  Gently toss the berries with the almond or oat flour to coat so they don't sink to the bottom of your muffins while baking.  Add to the batter and gently fold in.  Pour into 12 regular sized muffin tins either sprayed or lined with cupcake liners.  Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until done.   Let cool. 

Products I used in making this recipe;
Isopure Creamy Vanilla Protein Powder
Bob's Red Mill Oat Flour
Hodgson Mill Vital Wheat Gluten with Vitamin C
Honeytree's Imitation Honey, Sugar Free


I can find the sugar free honey, oat flour and Vital Wheat Gluten at my grocery store and Walmart but I do order the other products online.  I didn't list the liquid sweetener I use only because it's been discontinued, so just use the one you like best.  Lastly, you can find the ISOPURE brand protein powder at GNC I think (?). I always order it online as I can find it at a good price, but we use this one because it has NO carbs and NO sugar - which other brands do often have carbs and sugar. 

Penne Alfredo Carbonara (The easy, cheaters way - in honor of my 17 year old daughter)

My favorite pasta sauce is a homemade Alfredo sauce that I add something to, depending on what sounds good at the time.  Easily whipped up with a little butter, cream, garlic and cheese, I can add bacon, basil, smoked cheese, fresh peeled shrimp, broccoli, tomatoes... etc. etc.  However, I have a 17 year old daughter whose favorite food is Fettuccine Alfredo... but doesn't like to take the time to make the sauce, doesn't 'want' to make the sauce and wants to know why we can't just buy some?  So... for my teenager, I try to keep a jar of store bought Alfredo sauce in the pantry.

But between you and me?  Even the best brands still taste....  bought.

So, start with your favorite brand Alfredo Sauce and with a couple steps, make it special.  This time around I got my George Foreman grill out, let some bacon crisp in it while I warmed the sauce and then added a couple ingredients to give it a 'homemade' flavor.
 
Quick and Easy Penne Alfredo Carbonara

12 oz. penne or other favorite pasta, cooked and drained
1 jar of your favorite Alfredo Sauce
6 slices bacon
1-2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
3-4 leaves fresh basil, chopped or minced
Parmesan, freshly grated

In a sauce pan over medium heat, warm the sauce while you fry or microwave bacon until crisp.  Crumble in the bacon, add fresh garlic to taste and fresh basil.  When warmed through, pour over hot pasta in a serving bowl and garnish with a sprig of basil and sprinkle with grated Parmesan or a Parmesan blend.  Goes well with garlic bread!

Adding fresh basil

Extra:

I'm going to briefly mention the herb chopper I am using in the photos. My oldest daughter bought it for me for Mother's Day from William Sonoma - however, I found it on Amazon for those who are interested. It's a sharp, easy to use, good chopper IF your herbs are dried. The instructions do say this, but if you are like me you tend to think "oh, it won't matter" and try it on damp, fresh rinsed herbs anyway. It does matter.

They will ball up a bit and not really fall freely into your dish. And when you go to wash the chopper it's a pain as the 2 blade disks are very sharp and have to go together 'just right'.

After a couple months of trial and error, I don't think it works well for thin, tiny dried herbs like rosemary or thyme because they are so little they fall through the blades. I also didn't care for it for coriander because again, the little ball seeds slip through.

However! I have come to love it. I use my chopper for 3 items; parsley, cilantro and basil. Because I only use it for these items I found it's not necessary to dismantle it and wash it all the time. These herbs dry and shrink very quickly so after using it, I just leave it alone over night and the next morning, a couple quick flicks of the wrist dislodges tiny bits of dried herbs and it's clean and ready to go. I still use 'fresh' herbs from my kitchen garden but I simply grab twice what I think I'll need to make up for the way the wet or damp herbs tend to stick in the sharp blades. If you have herbs planted and are like me, they grow CRAZY fast and I can't use them all up anyway so grabbing a couple extra sprigs or leaves is never, ever a problem.

I use this Microplane chopper for basil, parsley and cilantro

 

This week Amazon links are being wonky. The links below may or may not show up based on how Amazon 'feels' that day.  But the photos above should link to the product too.

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