Cream of Tomato Soup

This is a great soup to make this summer if you grow a lot of tomatoes.

Makes about 6 servings

4 C chopped tomatoes (I usually just use canned)

1 onion, chopped

3 whole cloves garlic

Ground pepper

1 tsp brown sugar

1 tsp salt

3 sprigs parsley or fresh basil

3 T butter

3 T flour (to make GF substitute with GF flour or cornstarch)

1 1/2 C chicken broth

1 C half-and-half

Simmer tomatoes, onion, garlic, pepper, sugar, salt, and parsley together for 10 minutes. Remove from heat (add fresh basil if you desire) and blend to desired consistency. In a large skillet, melt butter and whisk in flour; stir until golden. Slowly pour chicken broth into flour mixture, whisking to incorporate. Stir until thickened. Add to tomato mixture, add half-and-half and simmer 5 minutes (do not boil).

Delicious served with grilled cheese.

Pretzels

I found this recipe in a book called Mitten Strings for God, by Katrina Kenison. I love these pretzels because they take about an hour from start to finish, they are a perfect activity for the children, and they taste really, really good!

In a large bowl, dissolve 2-3 T yeast in 1 1/2 C warm water.

Add: 1 T honey

1 T salt

4 1/2 C flour

Give a wooden spoon to the kiddos and let them have a go until they are pooped. Then take over and mix until you can gather the dough to kneed a bit. Then cut up into however many pieces you want. Give the dough balls to the kids to roll into pretzel shapes, letter shapes, hearts, etc. Place on baking sheet.

For salty pretzels: Brush tops with egg and sprinkle with sea salt, or kosher salt

For sweet pretzels: Brush tops with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar or sugar in the raw.

Bake for 10 minutes in a 425 degree oven.