Insulated Jar & Sides #17

Croutons, homemade cream of tomato soup (recipe below), cucumber slices, and ranch for dipping (in the chick).

Tired of tomatoes in raw form, I decided to make soup. I didn't have enough other stuff to make more than two servings, which I had for dinner last night and then today for lunch. The recipe is adapted from the Fannie Farmer Cookbook. It looks a little weird, but it was really very nice, especially with the croutons.

Cream of Tomato Soup
Serves: 2

1 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons bread crumbs
A 1-inch thick slice of onion, rubbed with ground cloves (trust me on this)
1 sprig of parsley
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup chopped fresh tomatoes
A pinch of baking soda (again, trust me on this)
1 tablespoon butter
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Pour the milk into a pot. Stir in bread crumbs. Add onion rubbed with cloves, parsley, bay leaf, and sugar. Simmer gently over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and take out and discard the onion and the bay leaf. Add tomatoes and baking soda. Simmer gently over medium heat for another 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and puree with an immersion blender. Return to heat and add butter and salt and pepper to taste. Heat, stirring, until the butter melts and the soup is hot.