I LUV Cooking-Tomato Soup

I love this summer because I got a lots of time for myself to search for cooking recipes, and try them out at home~! I found these websites are usually someone’s personal blogs, and they have posted the step by step pic on their website, this way I know it works. It’s much better to go with someone’s recipe than the cooking book ones. In a way, I am not that talented to follow the cook book, it never turns out to be the one I imagined. But this way, I know someone out there already tried out and it actually works! I am also smart on picking the simple recipes, French cooking are too complicated, I will save it for those who are out there dedicated…
I LUV FOOD!
Tomato Soup

Borrow the recipe from my co-worker, a 20 year old poor college student. She got it from a book called “healthy cook book”, you can actually find it on Amazon for $1.35, plus S&H, you can get a very good healthy cook book published in 1998 for 5 bucks total! It’s a bargain~ I actually flipped through the book, and if they got pic I would definitely buy the book. Too bad that I am a visual learner.
Ingredient List
1 TBSP Olive Oil
1/3 C finely diced onions
¼ C finely diced celery
¼ C finely diced carrots
1 clove garlic, minced
3 large tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and diced (see note)
1 bay leaf
2 TBSP minced fresh parsley or 1 TBSP dried
2 tsp minced fresh basil or 1 tsp dried
1 tsp minced fresh thyme or ½ tsp dried
1 tsp minced fresh marjoram or ½ tsp dried or 1/3 tsp oregano dried
3 cups defatted chicken broth or reduced-sodium tomato juice
¼ tsp ground black pepper

1) In a large sauce pan over medium heat, warm the oil. Add the onions, celery, carrots and garlic. Sauté for 5 minutes, or until onions are soft.
2) Add the tomatoes, bay leaf, parsley, basil, thyme and marjoram (Oregano).
3) Cover and cook over low heat for 10-15 minutes, or until the mixture is soft
4) Gradually stir in the broth or tomato juice and bring to a boil. (My 1 can of chicken broth only covers 2 cups, so I used the tomato sauce that was in my pantry forever ago to cover the 3rd cup, turns out just fine)

5) Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer gently for 15-20 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft. Stir in the pepper.
6) Remove and discard the bay leaf

NOTE: To peel tomatoes easily, dip them in boiling water for 30 seconds, or until the skins begin to crack. Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process. When cool enough to handle, slip off and discard the skins.
NOTE 2: For all the vegetables, to cheat, just throw all of them into a blender, if you don’t like chunky soup, I like mine liquidy. Also, you can substitute tomatoes from store bought canned diced tomatoes, but I find them too chunky, then I blend them anyway.

Book said this will yield 4 servings, each serving is about 79 calories, 3.8g fat, 4.7 g protein, 7.9g carbohydrates, 1.8g dietary fiber, 0mg cholesterol, 271mg sodium.

HAPPY SOUP DAY!