Fresh Tomato Soup

Late summer, backyard tomato plants start producing lots of tomatoes. Although I do not currently have any tomato plants, I am the beneficiary of Mom's tomato plants and a neighbor's tomato plants. Often the tomatoes come in a slow enough flow to be used up in salads, but if you find yourself with many tomatoes on hand, give this soup a try. After having fresh tomato soup, you will never be satisfied with the canned version.

Mom's recipe calls for seeding and peeling the tomatoes. But there is no real reason to do so here. The onion will already add some texture to the soup, so including chunks from seeds and peel will just give the text even more texture. This recipe made two good-sized servings of soup.

Fresh Tomato Soup 

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 cup water
• 6 medium tomatoes, diced
• 1 Tbsp. minced parsley
• 1 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. thyme
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1 bay leaf

In a 3-quart saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and cook onion until tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in flour until blended. Gradually stir in water. If desired, seed and peel tomatoes before dicing. Add tomatoes and remaining ingredients over high heat; heat mixture to boiling. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring frequently. Add more water for desired thickness. Remove bay leaf. Enjoy!