Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Fall... Sept 1st or Sept 22nd?

If you ask me, September 1st. If you ask Darren September 22nd.

Fall is my favorite time of the year. Cool mornings and nights, yet warmish days. Pumpkins. Colored leaves. Boots. And best of all soup. So. This year, I've decided to wait to pull out the fall decorations until Sept 22nd in honor of my husband (since the weather is also clearly on his side this year). However, I am going to start to cook like it's fall.

Yup that means soup, artisan bread & green salad for dinner. Yes - I know it is 80 outside & I'm in a tank top cooking this soup but I'm SO ready for fall. So tonights special is called Tomato Orange Soup. I discoved it last spring when my friend Jen & I took an epicurian walking tour of portland & we were led into Elephants Deli downtown in the fox tower. We sampled this soup. It has been in the back of both of our minds ever since. I think Jen must be moving into fall early too becuase she made this soup also this week & was kind enough to email me the recipe. It sounds strange but it is SO SO SO good. And it is available on the web so I'll go ahead & clip it below. Enjoy!!

ELEPHANT TOMATO ORANGE SOUP
1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 cup heavy cream

In a saucepan, melt butter; add onion and sauté until translucent. Add tomatoes, salt, pepper, baking soda and thyme. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered about 15 minutes or until slightly thickened.
Puree in a food processor or blender; strain through a sieve or food mill. (The Soup Lady likes a little texture and uses a hand held immersion blender for this.)
Return to saucepan and stir in orange juice. At this point, the soup can be refrigerated until ready to serve.At serving time, add the whipping cream and heat gently, stirring constantly, bringing to a simmer and adjust seasonings if necessary. Extra cream maybe drizzled on top of the soup immediately before serving for decorative effect.

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