A quick hello while I frantically type this one-handed while the egg timer that is my brand new baby boy ticks away on my chest. I’ve been busy cooking up something else this year, hence my absence around here. Today I made an executive decision to drastically scale back the amount of time it takes to put up a new recipe. As much as I love to indulge my OCD tendencies with painstaking attention to detail, something’s gotta give if I’m ever going to share a recipe here again. So I’ll just be using an iPhone for the pictures and there will be very limited text. I’ll get back to the full blown posts eventually, but I wanted to give myself the outlet to still share what I love to do, with the limited time I have now as a mom of two (that still sounds weird to say! ).

So, to start out this new chapter, I thought I’d share one of my favorite soups I made tonight for dinner. The recipe was actually given to me by one of the Delta Gamma ladies I used to cook for in Oregon. It came from a place in Portland called Elephant’s Deli, and I’ve just tweaked it a little over the years. It’s very similar to traditional tomato soup but with a really light, sweet hint of orange and thyme which gives it an elegance and interesting flavor profile. This is also the only soup I can get my 3 year old to eat (he calls it “orange soup”) which is perhaps the real reason I make it so much lately. It really hits the spot on a chilly day, and we have quite a few of those coming up here, so I do hope you’ll try it. Cheers.

Tomato Orange Soup

Yields: 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

1 medium yellow onion, diced

2 oz. unsalted butter

1 tsp. dried thyme (or 1 Tbsp fresh)

1/2 tsp. black pepper

2 - 28 oz. cans diced tomatoes (do not drain)

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 cup orange juice

Salt to taste

Fresh orange slices and/or sprigs of thyme for garnish (optional)

Method:

Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the diced onions with the thyme and pepper and sauté until translucent. Stir in the canned tomatoes, cover the pot, and cook for about 15 minutes or until the tomatoes have softened. Sprinkle the baking soda over the soup and stir well (it will sizzle and foam). Lower the heat to low. Use your immersion blender to blend the soup until mostly smooth (a few lumps are ok). Stir in the heavy cream and orange juice and add salt to taste just before serving. Garnish with orange slices or fresh thyme if you wish.

Tips:

-This soup is ideally served with grilled cheese, panini, or any other type of hot grilled sandwich.

-In the summer, swap out the canned tomatoes for fresh (about 10-15 medium sized tomatoes). The flavor is incredible!

-You can also use a regular blender or food processor if you don’t have an immersion blender. Just work in batches and be careful...it will be hot!