Harvest Soup

Over the weekend, we were informed that the first frost of the season would be arriving this week (it arrived today), so with this in mind, my wife went and harvested all of our ripe veggies. We had tomatoes, peppers, corn, and another zucchini we inherited, so I figured that the easiest thing to do with them would be to make a soup. With a few purchased items to help balance the flavors, our Harvest Soup was born.







This recipe is written as a guide and to give you another option of what to do with the veggies of your final harvest; it's basically a "throw-whatever-you-have-in-the-pot soup." So, use whatever you have in your garden and have fun with it.


What you need...

Tomatoes
Garlic... 6-8 cloves
Onions... 2-large
Carrots... 10
Bell peppers... 8
Corn
Celery
Zucchini
Tomato paste... 12 oz (optional)
Salt... either Kosher or sea salt (for this amount of soup, I started with 1-Tablespoon and adjusted from there)
Pepper
Italian Seasoning
Basil
Oregano
Thyme
Sage
Bay Leaves (Turkish)... 3
Brown sugar
Olive oil (used if you decide to sauté the veggies)
Large Stock pot
Blender
Potato Peeler
Food mill
Baking sheet
Mason jars w/ lids or freezer-safe container (for freezer storage)
Grilled cheese sandwich (to enjoy with your soup)


What to do...

1. Rinse your Tomatoes


2. Peel onions and quarter


3. Using a potato peeler, peel your carrots (this is an optional step, but I like to do it) and cut into sections


4. Cut the tops off the peppers and cut then length-wise


5. Remove the seeds, scrape smooth and dice


6. Take zucchini and remove seeds and dice


7. Dice onions


8. Remove corn from cob


9. Dice celery


10. Take the bulbs of garlic and mince


11. This is optional: Sauté onions, garlic, celery, peppers, and carrots (be sure to season while you sauté)


12. Add tomatoes and veggies to the pot(s)


13. Using potato masher, mash veggies as necessary (the tomatoes will provide all the liquid you will need)


14. Turn the stove to medium heat and add the bay leaves (3), salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, sage, oregano, thyme, and basil to the pot


15. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for one hour, stirring occasionally


16. Allow to cool partially


17. Mash those veggies, again


18. Using a ladle, place veggies into the blender
    
    
    
    • CAUTION...Only fill to halfway or a little less. The mixture is hot and when you turn the blender on, it will expand and try to fly out of the top
    
    
    • Place a towel over the lid of the blender (this will help prevent the soup from redecorating your kitchen)
    
    
    
    
19. Pour blended mixture into a food mill and process over a big bowl


20. Repeat processing until done


21. If soup is too watery, add tomato paste to thicken


22. Taste soup and season with salt and brown sugar as needed


23. Place in mason jars or freezer safe container


24. Once cooled, transfer to freezer

This is the finished product...




Starting to transfer to storage containers...





Part of the mess it made...



For Service...

1. Thaw your soup and place in microwave-safe bowl


2. Add a touch of cream or sour cream (what I add) to your soup and mix


3. Heat and enjoy

For a great Almond Orange Chicken recipe, please drop by Auntie E's Kitchen and visit.