Tomato Soup!

Hi Shareholders!

 I realize we just sent you an email however, I had to share this recipe with you. I found it on "riddlelove" a fun blog about organic farming and menu planning. We will have 10 pound bags of tomatoes for sale tomorrow/Thursday and this soup freezes great!

Creamy Tomato Bisque
Serves 6

• About 8 cups tomatoes
• 4 Tablespoons bacon grease (Just do it.  Trust me on this one.  Or use butter if it's too much to wrap your mind around.)
• 1 onion, minced
• 1 carrot, sliced
• 1 stalk celery, sliced
• 1/4 cup arrowroot powder whisked into 1/4 cup cold water
• 1 quart chicken stock
• Several sprigs of thyme tied together
• 1 pinch (or 2 or 3) red pepper flakes
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
• 4 (or 5 or 6) cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup créme fraiche
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Celtic sea salt

• Several fresh basil leaves, cut chiffonade-style 
• Freshly-grated Parmesan cheese
• Ground pepper (it's such a pretty finish)
• A drizzle of balsamic vinegar (you kinda need this one)

1. Purée tomatoes in blender (a high-speed like a Vita-Mix is best) until thoroughly blended.
2. Heat soup pot with bacon grease until melted and add onion, carrot, and celery.  Sauté until the onions are translucent.  Briefly whisk in arrowroot powder/water mixture.  It might become gelatinous but it will thin out as you continue with the recipe.  Add stock and puréed tomatoes and continue to whisk until it's brought to a boil.
3. Turn heat to medium-low and add thyme sprigs, red pepper flakes, and pepper.  Keep the top open and allow soup to reduce to about 1/3 (about 45 minutes to 1 hour), stirring occasionally.
4. Turn off heat and compost thyme sprigs.  If you don't mind your soup a little lumpy, add remaining ingredients, run an emersion blender through it, and you're good to go.  If you're like my husband and enjoy the bisque as smooth as possible, you may also want to pour it through a sieve, composting any chunks.