Tomato Soup

[bombatomba]

Recently I've discovered I love tomato soup, specifically tomato basil soup.  I had about three bowls at the weekly employee lunch at work, and had to be chased away from the crockpot with a wooden spoon by my boss.  Needless to say eating more tomato basil soup has been on my mind lately.  In an attempt to recreate my enjoyment at consuming more of that tangy/creamy soup I decided to start at the beginning at work my way around until I found something good.

First attempt:  Campbell's Tomato Soup.  I plopped it down in a can (it being semi-liquid?) in a pot with some milk and dried basil, heated and served.  My first impression is yuck.  Way too sweet.  A couple more bites and I think I can taste the culprit.  Yep, high-fructose corn syrup, which gives it that sweet-smooth flavor I associate with a can of Spaghetti-Os.  I do like Spaghetti-Os, but what I really want is tomato soup, which brings me (finally) to the meat of this post:

Is this what tomato soup is supposed to taste like?  Is that the flavor that undercuts every childhood memory of a warm cup of tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich (for my American friends)?  What is tomato soup to you?  Any particular recipe you enjoy?

I'm starting again later with a can of tomato paste (can't afford fresh tomatos this week), water and milk, basil, garlic, salt, pepper, and a sprinkle of sugar to help the milk cut the extreme sourness of the paste.  Wish me luck.   

[Razor Knuckles]

Although I dispise pure tomato soup I still like to mix it with stuff. Well I used to back in the college days.

My budget while in college didn't allow me to eat normal food so I would always just mix a bunch of random cheap stuff together.

A lot of times Id mix tomato soup (Cause its cheaper than spaghetti sauce), ramen noodles, bread crumbs, Cajun spices and the cheapest shredded cheese into a bowl and eat what I called "Prison spaghetti"

It was actually pretty good. To this day I think I have the craziest taste in foods. I'll mix crap that 99.9% of normal humans would consider to be gross together. Like beer in place of milk with Cheerios. Beerios baby!

I think I'm gonna make my prison spaghetti soon. Been six years since I had it.

[bombatomba]

I think everybody has some sort of bizarre food they eat.  I doubt they still sell these in stores, but I used to buy boxes of thirty hamburgers for about $7 at Kroger.  It was cheaper than actual meat, so I would have those as both hamburgers and as a substitute for actual hamburger meat (like in tacos or spaghetti).  It was the nastiest stuff I ever ate, but it fit into my $10 a week budget for food back in 1997. 

Funny thing is that I can now see you eating both beerios and prison spaghetti, Raz.  You should take it to work and freak out the other guys in the garage.

On a side note the tomato paste works really well properly deluded with water and milk, so much that I don't feel the need to experiment anymore (save with different spices).

[Razor Knuckles]

Yeah my budget was about $20 worth of food a week. Thats crazy when I think about it now. I spend at least $10 in milk a week cause I friggin'' love milk. Guess milk and tomato liquids go hand-in-hand so I'll have to get some tomato soup and mix it with milk and something crazy.

[Fleach]

I love tomato soup too. And you're right about High Fructose Corn Syrup.

I make my own tomato soup at home using roma (plum) tomatoes. They're not expensive. Tomato paste is very tomato-y. It should be used more to boost tomato flavour.

Cut them in half, sprinkle salt and pepper, and roast them in the oven until appetizingly browned (half an hour or so).
Simmer in Chicken stock, then blend with a blender or food processor.
Add cream to the soup. Chop up some fresh basil. Serve
Yum.

[bombatomba]

I spend at least $10 in milk a week cause I friggin'' love milk.

Dude!  Going on milk prices now that's more than 3 gallons a week!  That means you drink more than my family of four, one who is a seven year-old cupboard-emptier and another is one of the most dedicated strawberry milk drinkers in Metro Detroit!  As always, you da man, Raz.

I love tomato soup too. And you're right about High Fructose Corn Syrup.

I make my own tomato soup at home using roma (plum) tomatoes. They're not expensive. Tomato paste is very tomato-y. It should be used more to boost tomato flavour.

Cut them in half, sprinkle salt and pepper, and roast them in the oven until appetizingly browned (half an hour or so).
Simmer in Chicken stock, then blend with a blender or food processor.
Add cream to the soup. Chop up some fresh basil. Serve
Yum.

That sounds amazing.  Do you remove the tomato skins after you roast them or leave them on?  Forgive my ignorance, but I've never worked with them in this capacity.  As for the paste, I really had no idea.  I normally use it only when making one of the varieties of Cincinnati style chili.  Thanks for the recipe, Fleach.  This is exactly what I was hoping for.

Crap.  Not only am I going to have to start a, herb garden in the spring, but also a sizable tomato garden.

[Fleach]

You're welcome! I like to cook and studied culinary arts. Actually worked in a few restaurants for a short while. This kind of stuff is right up my alley.

As for the skins, I just leave them on. They break down from the roasting and simmering. Pass your soup through a sieve if you think it's too lumpy. That'll catch any tomato skin remnants.

[NES_Rules]

The only tomato soup I've had is from Campbell's, and its always been one of those things that sounds better than it is. It looks so good on the can, but when I make it, it just turns into a chunky pink mixture.

Crap.  Not only am I going to have to start a, herb garden in the spring, but also a sizable tomato garden.

I don't know how many tomatoes it takes to make a bowl of soup, but Roma tomatoes are very plentiful producers. I had more plants than I needed, and a couple plants literally had a pile of tomatoes under them when I didn't pick them for a week, the ground wasn't even visible anymore, just a layer of tomatoes.
If you're serious about growing your own, and want to do it from seed, send me a PM and I can mail you some seeds.

[bombatomba]

If you're serious about growing your own, and want to do it from seed, send me a PM and I can mail you some seeds.

Very serious, actually.  I will certainly take up your offer on the seeds, and I thank you kindly for it.  It also turns out Romas are good for salsa as well, so that pretty much covers all the food I need for the spring and summer (salsa and tomato soup).  Too bad I can't grow tortilla chips as well!

[NES_Rules]

If you're serious about growing your own, and want to do it from seed, send me a PM and I can mail you some seeds.

Very serious, actually.  I will certainly take up your offer on the seeds, and I thank you kindly for it.  It also turns out Romas are good for salsa as well, so that pretty much covers all the food I need for the spring and summer (salsa and tomato soup).  Too bad I can't grow tortilla chips as well!

Salsa is primarily what I use them for. You can also make sauce, ketchup, and just about any tomato product from Romas.
You could technically grow tortilla chips, they're basically just ground up corn made into a dough and then fried or baked.

[Razor Knuckles]

For bombatomba's amusement here is a current picture of my fridge filled with four gallons of milk. It will be lucky to last me a week as I consume milk like a mad-man. BTW Target and Meijer have the best milk prices in town for 2% milk.

Needless to say I need to check into the legalities of owning a cow in my city. Sure would save me a lot of money. 

I should get me some tomato soup to cut with milk since thats the hip thing to do.

[img width=700 height=933]http://i1077.photobucket.com/albums/w462/RazorKnuckles/milk004.jpg[/img]

[Fleach]

Are doing GOMAD (gallon of milk a day)? Or are you just a milk fiend?

Here in Canada we get 4 liters, which is slightly more than 1 gallon, of milk in bags like this:

[img width=560 height=408]http://glitteringmuffins.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/000-milk-bags.jpg[/img]

[Zagnorch]

For bombatomba's amusement here is a current picture of my fridge filled with four gallons of milk. It will be lucky to last me a week as I consume milk like a mad-man. BTW Target and Meijer have the best milk prices in town for 2% milk.

Needless to say I need to check into the legalities of owning a cow in my city. Sure would save me a lot of money. 

I should get me some tomato soup to cut with milk since thats the hip thing to do.

[img width=700 height=933]http://i1077.photobucket.com/albums/w462/RazorKnuckles/milk004.jpg[/img]

HOLY CRAP!!!

You like A-1 and Cholula?

And I thought I was the only one...

[Razor Knuckles]

^ Yeah I love having a wide variety of sauces. I have a half gallon of Sweet Baby Rays on the very bottom right thats lasted me two months cause I love that stuff.

[Zagnorch]

^ Yeah I love having a wide variety of sauces. I have a half gallon of Sweet Baby Rays on the very bottom right thats lasted me two months cause I love that stuff.

Oh, I thought that was a jug of chunky salsa.

A jug that size of salsa might last me a week at best. I'll take a cup of it and dip just about anything in it-- celery, chicken wings, you name it. Or I'll just ea it straight. It's great to have around when ketchup simply won't cut it.

BTW how's this for getting seasonal: I celebrate St. Patrick's Day by eating Lucky Charms cereal doused in Bailey's Irish Cream.