Dinner Time - Fresh Tomato & Herb Soup

Wednesday, October 17, 2007, by Leigh Anne

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It’s harvest time at the Wilkes’ house. It’s time to put the vegetable garden to bed for the winter. Jim went out this week and picked all the remaining tomatoes (3 buckets full!). The pumpkins were also ready to be picked. It is a family tradition for all of us to go out and pick the pumpkins, each child “claiming” their pumpkin. With the boys at school and just the girls at home Jim started a new tradition last year by inviting all the neighborhood kids over to pick a pumpkin too! So Saturday afternoon they were all invited over to “claim” their pumpkin.

I have a lot of tomatoes that need to be used so I decided to make Tessa’s favorite soup last night for dinner - Fresh Tomato & Herb Soup. It is a recipe from the Stephanie Inn Cookbook - the Stephanie Inn is a wonderful hotel in Cannon Beach, Oregon. If you are ever looking for a romantic getaway - it is the place!

I love being able to walk out into my backyard, into my own garden, and pick some of the foods I will use in my dinner - fresh tomatoes, parsley, basil. etc. If you don’t have room for a garden, at least get a container and plant some of your own herbs. Herbs, freshly cut make a big difference in the flavor of a dish and they are so easy to grow in a container. I love the smell of the herbs on my hands after I cut them.

So as the tomato season comes to an end - enjoy this yummy soup. I serve it with gorgonzola cheese and pine nuts sprinkled on top! Yum! It is an easy soup to prepare because you do not have to peel the tomatoes - just chop them!