Stephanie’s Tomato Soup

Cut your tomatoes into quarters or other large chunks, removing the stems as you go. Cut your other vegetables into large chunks, removing the seeds and membranes from the bell peppers. If you like a little heat, you can add a hot pepper or two at this time, also chunked.

Spread all your vegetables onto a large, shallow, baking dish-like a sheet pan. Toss in the garlic cloves and sprinkle on the fresh herbs. Drizzle with the oil. If you only have a small pan and have to do two batches, reserve enough oil to drizzle the second batch. Set your oven to broil, and move one rack to the highest spot. Let the oven heat for about five minutes-then put the pan in. It takes about ten minutes for the vegetables to roast through. Peek at 8 minutes-if they are starting to scorch, go ahead and take them out. If there is no juice coming off at ten minutes, give them another two or three minutes.

When the veggies are done, remove the pan and let them cool for about ten minutes. Process the vegetables in the blender with a small amount of the liquid of your choice (broth or milk) until there is a smooth puree. Pour into a sauce pan. Add more liquid of your choice until the soup reaches the desired consistency-that is totally up to your preference. Add the salt and pepper, more or less to taste. Bring to a simmer to heat through.

Serve with crostini or cheesy garlic bread.

This soup can be canned in a pressure canner. Put it into the pint jars straight from the blender-thin it out (with milk or broth) before you serve it later. It is awesome in the middle of winter to have this wonderful taste of your garden and all it’s flavors to perk you up!