Farmers Market by day, tomato soup by night
June 12th, 2009
For months I’ve turned green with envy at those of you who have brilliant farmers markets practically year-round. Ours have just begun recently in the Boston area and this year I have my own table at the local market. Cool, huh?
I’ll tell you the coolest part – all the different people. At the market in the middle of the day I see kids with their pregnant moms, older folks going for a stroll, recently graduated college seniors who haven’t started work yet, local business people…it’s really very nice. I give out recipes that use fresh produce and talk to people about health counseling. As the crowd gets bigger each week, I’m planning to give some free yoga classes too! But right now I think people are just starting to remember about going to the market because it’s early in the season.
Anyway, the other coolest part of the market is obviously the fresh produce! I love just sitting there all day next to it. The farmers were kind enough to donate some items for my table display, and then before I packed up to leave I bought a few bags of goodies to make for dinner.
I had an interesting conversation with one woman who was lamenting that none of the farmers were organic this year. We talked a little about local vs. organic but she seemed set on only buying organic. I later asked one of the farmers about it and they assured me that they used no chemicals or pesticides but simply were not certified organic because of the expense! USDA organic certification isn’t free, so lots of smaller farms don’t think it’s worth it. Lesson learned – talk to your local farmers and ask about their farming techniques. Next week if I see that woman I’m going to tell her to go ask some questions!
It’s been really cold up here the past week, so when I finally got my chance to hit the produce stalls, the fresh basil and tomatoes spoke to me and said, “Make sooooooouuuup” So I did. I had never made tomato soup before and I kind of just made it up as I went along. It came out really yummy! Try this recipe but use what you have on hand…I think it’d be difficult to go wrong.
Farmers Market Tomato Soup
3 tomatoes, halved
2 whole cloves garlic
4 Tbl. olive oil
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 onions, chopped
2 cups vegetable broth
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1 handful fresh parsley, chopped
1 handful fresh basil, finely chopped
s+p
Use 3 Tbl. olive oil to coat tomatoes and garlic. Place on sheet in oven at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes. In the meantime, chop onions and celery. In a soup pot, heat remaining 1 Tbl. oil and saute onions with salt until soft and golden. Add celery and cook a few more minutes. Pour broth into pot and add cloves, parsley, s+p. Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer.
When tomatoes are done and garlic is starting to turn golden, add to soup. Continue simmering another 10 minutes or so. Using an immersion blender to blend into soup as smooth or chunky as you like. Top with fresh basil.
Have you ever made tomato soup before? What’s your favorite recipe?
This post is part of Food Renegade’s Fight Back Fridays.
Love your booth, AND your tomato soup!
Thanks for sharing this in today’s Fight Back Fridays carnival.
Cheers,
June 12th, 2009 at 2:42 pmKristenM
(AKA FoodRenegade)
I love tomato basil soup! So refreshing. I’m wanting to try to make watermelon gazpacho. I’m with you on the green envy. Here in Vegas it’s slim pickins in the local produce department. My fiancee and I went to a farmers market in portland a couple spring breaks ago and it was amazing!
June 12th, 2009 at 3:27 pmFree recipes AND free yoga!? Alright!! I love farmer’s markets. Great recipe
Nothing like fresh vegetables… YUM!
June 12th, 2009 at 3:57 pmHi Michelle,
I’m finishing up with the garlic harvest this week. I’ll let you know when I send some… probably early next week.
Sincerely,
June 12th, 2009 at 4:25 pmMike aka Garlic Man
ps: Your booth looks great! I’m going to try your tomato basil soup, but I think I’ll add more garlic so I can taste it… then it may be called Tomato/Basil/Garlic soup!
LOL,
June 12th, 2009 at 4:28 pmGarlic Man
I LOVE that photo of you! Your set up is so great! I’d definitely be stopping by to speak with you. So interesting about that lady and her organic search. It definitely pays off to talk with the vendors. Most end up being organic and not certified which is fine, really better, by me. The soup sounds wonderful. I’m a huge fan of fresh tomato soups.
June 12th, 2009 at 5:12 pmThat looks so FRESH and delicious! I’ll bet it’s full of flavor after roasting the tomatoes and garlic like that first!
Kelly
June 12th, 2009 at 8:38 pmLovely. I love tomato soup and have a recipe for a healing garlic tomato soup on my site, for when you’re not feeling well.
I’d love to see you contribute to my weekly blog carnival – Food Roots next Thursday. We focus on local, seasonal foods and knowing where your food comes from. Seems like you’d be a perfect fit.
June 13th, 2009 at 8:16 amI love tomato sauce as tomato soup, especially chunky sauce. My mom’s recipe is delicious starting with some chopped garlic and red pepper, a can of tomatoes, tomato paste, and basil. Sometimes i’ll add some raw spinach, olives, and/or some cooked veggies like eggplant or roasted peppers to the hot sauce to add some extra texture and flavor.
June 13th, 2009 at 8:33 pmNot really fresh but still good.
@FoodRenegade–thanks Kristen!
@EatingRD–watermelon gazpacho? that sounds awesome!
@rose–yup, free everything at my table
@GarlicMan–can’t wait to try your garlic! hope you like the soup.
@Lori–thanks! i hope as the weeks go on it gets more busy and people like you do stop by!
@KellytheKitchenCop–yeah, I forget where I got that idea to roast the tomatoes and garlic first…some other recipe…isn’t it funny how things recombine in your head to come up with new recipes?
@Shannon–I will have to check out your site and carnival, thank you!
@Lauren–that sounds a lot like my mom’s sauce
June 14th, 2009 at 1:29 pmi love this photo of your’s and the passion you have for a balanced lifestyle as well……..
June 14th, 2009 at 2:17 pmthanks for visiting my blog and this tomato basil soup looks just perfect…….i grow basil i my garden and love this combo.
You are so right about organic vs local. You did not go into a lot of details, but I can tell from what you wrote that you agree with me here. Organic is fine and one thing. But local food is the key. Organics can’t possibly supply the world with the food it needs. But local farmers can! GREG
June 14th, 2009 at 2:33 pmThanks so much for saying hi on my blog
Your tomato soup looks absolutely mouthwatering!
June 14th, 2009 at 5:47 pmgood for you having a stall you look so cute, hope it really helped business lol keep up the good work Rebecca
June 14th, 2009 at 7:07 pmHeyy Michelle! Congrats on all of this wonderful work you’re doing.
Wondering a few things…
1. What’s an immersion blender?
2. Do you have a Vitamix? Do you think they’re worth it?
They’re pricey, especially since I’m not all that keen on “yet another kitchen appliance for garbage heap one day.” Yet so many great recipes call for some form of blending. So far, not impressed with the average blenders.
3. From a nutrition standpoint, I’ve heard there’s something important that happens when food is chewed. The way our saliva reacts with it and starts breaking it down, etc. Any chance modern day blending will be something we realize down the road actually deprived us of nutrients because it did all the work for us? I wonder if the message our mouths would normally send to the rest of our bodies (“Hey guys, get ready to work, I’m chewing!”) is skipped when we blend it all up and just swallow. Maybe the food continues on through with the same ease (i.e. without optimal absorption)
That was a rant! There’s just something about dropping $450 on a blender that seems counterintuitive to good health (both individual health and greater planet health). Yet the recipes all sound so delicious and nutritious!
Would love to hear your thoughts…
June 14th, 2009 at 7:26 pmLove your booth- so cute! Great pic of you! I have actually never made tomato soup- but this sounds like a great recipe
June 14th, 2009 at 8:11 pmHow cool that you have your own booth! A year ago, would you have ever thought that this is what you would be doing?! And thanks for the soup recipe, I’m seriously upset that it’s freezing and raining yet again!
June 15th, 2009 at 6:10 amThat is so interesting about the price to be certified organic — I never knew that! I always prefer to buy local anyway, but I plan to ask questions at my next farmers market. Congrats to you for having your own booth!
June 15th, 2009 at 1:18 pm@Sangeeta – mmm fresh basil out of the garden. perfect!
@Greg – here in Boston it is a rarity and treat to have fresh, local produce. i’m all for organic because of environmental concerns, but have found that many local farmers are using sustainable methods even if they aren’t certified ‘organic.’ That’s what’s important to me.
@girlichef – happy to have found you! thanks for stopping by.
@Rebecca – thanks! i think it’s going to help get my name out there and certainly it’s a learning experience for me
@Jenn – Hey Jenn
An immersion blender is one that you put into the soup pot and blend, you don’t have to pour the soup into a separate blender. Like this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immersion_blender
It’s an interesting point you raise about chewing vs. blending! Ha! Well, for people with sensitive stomachs blending can be very helpful in getting the necessary food and nutrients in without causing digestive trouble. And Vita-Mix blenders rock because you can make homemade nut butters and things like that…better than store bought! But I don’t have one because they are just too expensive. I mostly use my food processor for tasks that require whizzing up, or the immersion blender for soups.
@Erica – thanks! hopefully next time it will be sunny so i can get a sunny booth photo
@CulinaryWannabe – No, a year ago I was resigning myself to my job and feeling sad. Now I love my job and feel happy! Except about the weather…
@Dori – thanks for stopping by! let us know what you find out about your local farmers!
June 15th, 2009 at 2:12 pmI just watched Alton Brown’s show on tomatoes, and was shocked to find I never ever had a truly good tomatoes…Local organic tomatoes apparantly is WAY superior to the ones that have been shipped over! And to make a soup from the ingredients you find in the farmer’s market…gosh, it just makes me all happy and warm and fuzzy!
June 15th, 2009 at 9:40 pmYAY for your own booth!
Michelle – what fun to find your site! I,m signing up to get you regularly. Good, fresh, nutritious food and yoga – two of my favs. Out here in Santa Cruz we are blessed with farmer’s markets, but it is easy to take it for granted. Can’t wait to try the tomato soup. And your booth looks great – maybe a flower or two somewhere? Thanks for all this.
June 16th, 2009 at 12:54 pm[...] Farmers Market by day, tomato soup by night <<This title has 4 of my favorite words in it! And a fantastic looking tomato soup recipe. I can’t wait to try it!! (from Michelle at Find Your Balance @MPfennighaus) [...]
June 19th, 2009 at 7:55 am