Homemade tomato soup

The ladies at work like to tease me because I could and do eat soup almost every day for lunch.  Something about a nice cup of soup just screams fall to me.  While grocery shopping the other day, I saw Campbell's tomato soup on sale.  I used to inhale this soup, but sneaking a peak at the ingredients made me think twice.

It was my good fortune that I was canning tomatoes Friday night and had 2 pints and 1 quart of tomatoes that I didn't want to can, because hello it takes 1 hour and 25 minutes in the canner, and it was already 11 pm when I finished the first batch.  So, I stuck them in the fridge unprocessed and tried to figure out something to do with them.  Saturday was meant to be chicken gyros, but the lure of garden fresh goodness was too strong to resist!

So, take a batch of diced tomatoes.  I used a mixture of Green Zebra, Brandywine, Sungold, something that starts with a M, and Flame.

And puree them in a blender or with an immersion blender.  I added some basil that was lingering in my garden towards the end of the processing.

Then, push the blended tomatoes through a metal sieve.  You can also use a food mill.  I have one, but didn't want to wash it on this particular day.

Discarded seeds

In a heavy saucepan (I am legally married to my dutch oven in my mind), melt 1/4 stick of butter.

Add about 1/4-1/3 cup of whole wheat flour to the melted butter to make a roux.

Add in the blended tomato mixture, and wisk until smooth(ish).  Cook on low for about 30 minutes.  Add salt and pepper.  Taste it.  Is it a bit acidic?  Drizzle the tiniest bit of honey in there to cut the acidity.

Serve up with chips and homemade guacamole because your homemade bread is still in the oven and you can't make grilled cheese.  Homemade tomato soup must be served with a topping of shredded cheddar cheese.  It's a decree.

I've shared this over at Frugal Tip Tuesdays, Cheap Good Eats, Traditional Tuesdays., and Real Food Wednesdays, and Simple Lives Thursday.