Cooking: A recipe for deliciousness

I have gone on and on about my love of soup. I credit being "thin" and never getting sick to my love of soup in the winter time. My family is not so in love with this concept, but I figure I cook lots of meat so...there!

This past week I made a delicious variation of a tomato soup  that I have made for years. 

I was craving a certain flavor and I totally created something that hit the spot.

My favorite way to cook is roasting. I roast veggies all the time. The smells it creates in my house are amazing. The flavors roasting creates are much deeper than sauteing. Plus, I am lazy.

I got home from work and made a little brie with apples and nuts to snack on while I cooked the soup.

I quartered 10 very mealy Roma tomatoes (I hate mealy and this is a great way to get something good out of mealy tomatoes).  Sliced up a large container of mushrooms, covered them with a little olive oil and Alchemy Spice seasoning salt and threw them in the oven at 425. About 20 minutes into it, I stirred them and returned to the oven.

While those roasted, I diced a large onion and sliced a medium fennel bulb. Fennel is one of the most under used veggies. I love the taste of fennel, which I learned the beauty of working on fine dining restaurants in the 1990's. Fennel was it in the 1990's.  While the tomatoes finished roasting, I sauteed the onion and fennel in a dutch oven and when the onions were almost brown, I lowered the heat and covered the dutch oven to simmer. My house smelled amazing.

Here is that recipe, which I have to say is  my newest favorite. I ate it all week, with a little smoked cheddar crumbled in on top. Amazing.

Yes, my dishes are pink and aqua. 

Roasted Tomato Soup

• 10-12 roma tomatoes, quartered
• 1 large container mushrooms (sorry, I don't know the size), sliced thickly
• 1 med/large onion diced
• 1 medium fennel bulb, thinly sliced
• 1 4 cup container of vegetable broth
• 1 28 oz. crushed tomatoes
• 2 cloves garlic, diced
• olive oil
• salt and pepper
• crushed red peppers (to taste)
• 1 1/2 table Alchemy Spice Mediterranean seasoning

On a greased cookie sheet, combine tomatoes and mushrooms, drizzle with olive oil and generously season with salt and pepper ( I used Alchemy Spice Seasoned Salt). Roast in a 425 oven for about an hour. Half way through, turn and adjust temperature if needed. Saute onion and fennel in a little olive oil in a dutch oven. Once onions begin to brown, reduce heat and cover, sweating the veggies. Once tomatoes are starting to get really good and roasted (and a little charred) remove from oven. Add garlic to dutch oven and cook until fragrant. Add tomatoes, broth and roasted veggies. Add seasoning and crushed red pepper, if using. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, tasting occasionally to see if seasonings are right. Adjust if needed. This makes a large amount of soup. 

Serve with really good bread, cheese quesadillas, or just by itself with some smoked cheese. Yum-o!