Souper Douper Tomato Soup

If I ever owned a cafe, it would be a bakery/ soup shop and I would call it Souper Douper.

But I'm really posting because my mom wants my favorite tomato soup recipe, so here it is.

Cream of Tomato Soup

• 1 quart tomatoes-peeled, seeded, and chopped
• 1 cup vegetable or chicken broth
• 1/2 TBSP butter
•  1/2 to 1 TBSP honey (depending on the sweetness of tomatoes, use the lesser amount for home grown summer tomatoes)
• 1 TBSP onions, chopped
•  1/8 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 to 1 cup cream 
• salt to taste 

1.  Saute onions in butter with a little salt, until translucent.
2. Add tomatoes, chicken broth, sugar, and soda.
3. Simmer over low heat for 15 minutes.
4. Add cream to hot tomato mixture, and heat, careful not to let it boil.
5. blend all or half of the soup depending on how smooth you like your soup, and serve with crunchy toasts.

Lunch in a Jar = awesome

I haven't been a very good writer lately, partly due to the fact that we've been all over the place the past couple weeks (camping/cycling/ Tetons/ Jackson/ etc.) and partly because I really have no desire to write about our travels. I like to write about what I'm thinking about. right. now, not what I did 4 days ago. So if you desire a travel post you should petition Todd. He can be most accommodating, especially if you say please.

So, right now I'm thinking about lunch because
a. it's lunch time,
b. I'm hungry, and
c. lunch has always seemed incredibly inconvenient and I want to fix it.

So fix it I shall-- and as my first act of fixing lunch I have began to make these fantastic salads in jars. Mason jars are my second true love of my kitchen (right after my beloved knife set) because they serve so many purposes. Yogurt. check. soups. check. canning. check. pantry storage. check. honey. check. glasses when cheap walmart set breaks. check.

The newest trick to hit the web it to put your lunch salad in a pint mason jar- dressing at the bottom, greens at the top, fixings in the middle and BAM! perfect lunch. And, PS, it's pretty too. Look at these lovelies from the daily muse.

Here are a couple of the combinations I've been using.

Thai peanut noodle salad
peanut sauce
tofu cubes
carrots, cucumbers, bell peppers
noodles
toasted peanuts 
greens/cilantro

Fruits and nuts
poppy seed dressing
red onion
blueberries/ nectarines
dried cranberries
pepitas/ toasted almonds
mixed greens

Southwest
something creamy...
salsa
black beans
fresh corn
jack or cheddar cubes
onion/ tomato/ bell pepper
mixed greens

Mediterranean
Italian Vinaigrette
large butter beans
kalamata olives
mozzarella cubes or feta
onion/ tomato/ cucumber/ tiny fresh zucchini
mixed greens