today starts off something like this around the westra household:
– i wake up after eleven, yes, eleven consecutive hours of sleep to a day as wide open and full of potential as a new canvas.
– steel-cut oats, real maple syrup, early apples and almonds for “breakfast”.
– shawn mcdonald pours out of my speakers.
– the packers kickoff tonight…right after i get out of yoga. the timing is divine.
– we’re officially halfway to baby’s arrival…pretty stoked.
– the house is still clean from my 12 hour, labor day cleaning extravaganza. legit. 12 hours. intense nesting at its best.
– i sent my husband off to work today with both the best tomato bisque ever and the best garden alfredo lasagna ever. if i do say so myself.

i used to pack tomato soup as a meal-on-the-go in college. pop the can, pour into travel mug, jet. that’s kind how it went.

this is not the kind of tomato soup you can slurp out of a travel mug while writing a 10 page paper in the library…12 hours before it’s due.

this is grown-up tomato soup. the meat and potatoes of tomato soups. it’s not a side, it’s a meal unto itself.

no cans. not even once. just say no to pop-top tomato soups. this guy will prove to you that those ready-made condensed guys are not even worth it.

Creamy Tomato Basil Bisque

you will need…

6 large beefsteak tomatoes
2 cups of water
1 vegetable bullion cube
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
1 cup of organic heavy cream
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tsp of sea salt (or to taste)
a dash of thyme
a dash of fresh ground black pepper

quality tomatoes are important for good tomato soup. seems like a no brainer, right? my tomatoes came from the farmers market, freshly picked that day. that’s the best way to begin this endeavor.

chop up the tomatoes, leave the seeds and skins, they’ll give the bisque some body, plus we don’t lose any of the nutrients this way. bring chopped tomatoes to a boil with water, vegetable bullion and basil. boil for 5-8 minutes.

pour all the contents into a blender and blend until desired consistency is reached. i wanted a pretty meaty soup, with chunks of tomato still intact so i pulsed my $15 wal-mart blender on high for about 3 minutes. obviously, if you have a vitamix, your blend time will be less.

or if you have an immersion blender, you can be cool like that and not pour your soup into anything. go ahead, be cool like that. we’ll all watch with green eyes.

pour your soup back into the large pot and keep it simmering over medium-high heat. add cream and bring back to a simmer. stir in cheese and seasonings and let simmer for approximately 15 minutes.

serve warm, but other than that options for serving are limitless. i served it with flat bread the first night and then sprinkled with chopped avocado for lunch later in the week.

you could also totally swirl some plain greek yogurt on top of it or make a classic grilled cheese. i support all serving options.