Tomato Soup

My Mom was recently diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma on her face.  She had surgery on Tuesday to have the spot removed.  We are so thankful that it was not a huge spot, although fairly deep.

I wanted to cook her something light and healthy that she could eat this week, instead of worrying about being in the kitchen.  She has been on Weight Watchers for a while and really enjoys their program.  Recently they announced that fruits and veggies no longer count towards your points.  When I read this recipe and saw that most of the ingredients were going to be point free I figured it was a big winner.

Plus, my picky husband does not like tomatoes so this gave me a chance to try it without being stuck with the whole batch by myself!

I bought two different kinds of tomatoes at Sam's to make up my 5 lbs.  I found the smaller ones were easier to peel.  Instead of being all technical when they came out of the boiling water, I just peeled the skin, squeezed them over a pot, and took the hard remaining part and put it in the trash can!

Everyone has given this soup two thumbs up!

I hope you enjoy!

Not-So-Basic Tomato Soup
Source:  The Eat Clean Diet Cookbook

Ingredients:

• 5 lbs. fresh tomatoes (any combination of types will do)
• 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
• 1 tsp organic honey (or whatever you have at home)
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Juice of one fresh lemon

Directions:

Wash tomatoes under cold running water.  Remove green crowns.

Bring several cups of water to a boil in a large sauce pan or soup pan.  Place whole tomatoes in boilding water just long enough to split and loosen their outer skin.  You may have to do this in batches.  Once the skins are loose remove the tomatoes from the boiling water and drop them in a bowl of ice water.  This will stop the cooking process and accelerates the cooloing of the tomatoes.  When the tomatoes are cool enough to handle, loosen the skins with your hands.  (This is where I just squeezed them and removed the hard part.)  Or the directions say quarter the tomatoes and remove the hard inner core.  

In a dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium high heat.  Place all the tomatoes in the pot.  Add 1/2 cup of water.  Bring the mixture to a boil and immediately reduce the heat.  Add fresh basil, cover the pot and allow the tomatoes to simmer for about 30 minutes or until they are soft.  Stir the mixture occasionally.  Remove from heat.

The next step I modified, I put the mixture into the blender and pureed.  (The original had you put it through a food mill to remove seeds.  A seed never killed anybody!).  Return to pot and allow to simmer.  Stir in the honey and lemon juice.  Season with salt and pepper.  Serve hot.

NOTE:  You can add some fresh spinach to the bottom of your soup bowl and ladle soup on top.  By the time you get towards the bottom they will be nice and wilted.  Adds a little more nutrition.