Pure Of Heart Soup

“Only the pure of heart can make good soup”, Beethoven.  Interesting quote, don’t you think?  But then again, Beethoven was an interesting character and quite talented at that!

I’m really pleased with todays soup.  Roasted Tomato Bisque.  Pure deliciousness.  It’s made with roasted cherry tomatoes and garlic.  When the garlic aroma begins to waft through the air your mouth will water and your tummy will growl.  What is it about that fragrance?  Well as soon as I smelled it I couldn’t wait to taste the finished product.  It did not fail me.  It’s so simple to make that even after a long day you can throw it together with little fuss and offer a healthy and comforting meal.

In my last post about Chicken Noodle Soup I mentioned that around here it cures everything from a bad cold to a broken heart.  Tomato soup is the next best thing for those two misfortunes.  Did you know cherry tomatoes are low in sodium and very low in saturated fat and cholesterol?  They are a great source of Vitamins E, B6, A, C, and K.  They are also a wonderful source of dietary fiber and contain Potassium, Magnesium, Folate, Phosphorus and Copper.  Healthy!

So here’s the deal.  If you whip up this soup you’ll have a meal that is easy to prepare, healthy, comforting and just might cure what ails you.  Go ahead, all of you who are pure of heart, you know who you are.  Make soup!

Here is an update on my bees.  Today the temperature reached 79*, perfect day to inspect my hives.  I went through every hive and was pleased to see capped honey, brood, tons of bees in all hives, girls bringing in pollen and pollen being stored.  I saw something today that I’ve never seen before.  I’ve seen yellow, gold, cream and orange pollen being brought into the hives but today I saw girls carrying red pollen into the hives.  I was lucky to get a couple of photos.  I’m not sure what the source of this red pollen is but I will be attempting to figure it out.  I have a hunch this will be a lucrative year in honey production.  That in part is due to our mild winter and the rain we’ve been blessed with.  I may even be able to extract some honey in the next couple of weeks.  Stay tuned….

Later in the day I made a second trip out to the hives to switch the position of the two top supers (boxes) and Queen Rita’s girls went berserk so I came inside.  Several of them, guard bees I suppose, chased me all the way up to the house.  This has only happened one other time in the 11 months I’ve kept bees.  I will make another trip out tomorrow afternoon to complete the job, as I only switched two hives and have two more to switch.  This will put the honey up at the top of the hive, making it easily accessible  when I’m ready to bottle it.  If there’s one thing I’ve learned, when the bees get agitated, it’s time to go!

Enjoy!

Red Pollen being carried into the hive

Frame full of beautiful golden honey

 Roasted Cherry Tomato Bisque

Ingredients:
2 pounds cherry tomatoes, halved
6 cloves garlic, peeled
3 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. fresh thyme leaves, chopped
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 can low-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 cups half-and-half
1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar

Heat the oven to 425*.  In a large bowl toss the tomatoes, garlic, salt, pepper, and thyme together.  Spread mixture onto a rimmed baking sheet.  Roast at 425* for 30-35 minutes, turning once.

Spoon tomato mixture and any accumulated liquid into a large pot.  Add broth and 1 cup water.  Bring to a simmer, cook 10 minutes.  Transfer to blender in batches or using an immersion blender purée until smooth.  Return to pot if using blender and stir in half-and-half and balsamic vinegar.  Cook 3 minutes until heated through (do NOT boil).

If using the immersion blender you may need to strain out the peels from the tomatoes before you serve it.  This may or may not bother you – your choice. I used a slotted spoon and it was easily accomplished.