mrs.reber-please post

[mah]

mrs.reber:

could you please post your recipe for tomato-potato bisque soup. it sounds like a great fall meal.....

[MrsReber]

Sure thing! I have pretty much memorized this one since my husband loves it so much. I try to use the tomatoes from our garden.

1/2 Cup butter
1 medium onion thinly sliced
4 Cups Tomatoes, skinned, seeded and chopped
3 Cups potatoes, sliced (about 3 medium
potatoes)
1 Cup Tomato juice
Ground white pepper
Rosemary
2 Cups heavy cream

Melt butter and saute onions until transparent (do not brown). Add tomatoes and tomato juice and cook until tomatoes have softened. Then add the potatoes, rosemary and pepper and simmer about 20 minutes (until potatoes are soft). Place mixture, 1 cup at a time into blender and puree. Return puree to the pot and add cream. Heat through.

*I don't remember the exact quantities of rosemary and pepper. I think it's around 1/4 - 1/2 tsp of each, but I use more and adjust it to our taste. They suggest serving it with chopped parsley on top.

Now, this is obviously not a very light recipe so what I have done is cut the butter down to 1/4 cup. Also, instead of the heavy cream, I have used half and half or regular milk. I imagine you could also use light milk and possibly some flour, but I have never tried this. The soup seems to thicken mostly from the potatoes. I also have never (as I mentioned) seeded the tomatoes.

My husband really likes this one. We are very big on soups at our house! I normally serve it with a salad or a home made bread (like foccacia).

I got this recipe from a cookbook I picked up on the Blue Ridge Parkway in VA. It's an entire cookbook devoted to all kinds of potatoes with recipes from soups to desserts. I hope you like this one as much as we do! Enjoy!

[MrsReber]

Mah, this post is quickly sinking to the bottom. Thought I'd put it back up where you can find it!

[Mamasue]

MrsReber,

This soup sounds soooo yummy! We are a soup family also. If you don't mind, I will take a copy of this for future making. Thanks for sharing with us. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[This message has been edited by Mamasue (edited 07-27-2000).]

[JeanneW]

I'm in the same boat. Most of my friends and family hate to cook or simply don't cook. It's frustrating sometimes because they can't really appreciate a really good meal. I really enjoy coming here and talking to all of you who like to cook. And I love sharing recipes.

Thanks to all of you for sharing your recipes, your stories and yourselves! Jeanne

[MrsReber]

By the way- I am so very flattered to be asked for a recipe! It's the first one anyone has asked me for! Yes, my friends think I am out of the ordinary for cooking like I do, but I love it so much. All the guys my husband works with tell him how lucky he is! It seems like we are a rare breed anymore!

[This message has been edited by MrsReber (edited 07-27-2000).]

[Pat]

We also love soup at our house and I am always happy to have a good soup recipe. Thanks for sharing.

[mah]

mrs.reber:

thanks for the post--we will be trying this post as soon as we have some ripe tomatoes-we live in the northeast and our garden is quite late because of all the rain, etc. i love homemade soups (even this time of year). if you have any more, please post away. i love the thai shrimp bisque from a few months ago--how about you?

[MrsReber]

By all means, Mamasue! It is a great joy for me to share a recipe that I love with other people! I just love to cook and I find that most of the folks I deal with everyday don't share that love. It's a shame that the tradition of cooking has been replaced with microwaves (my own sister is in that category!) and fast food. This bulletin board is so great because I can talk to all these people who share the love of good food and cooking/baking. I hope you and your family enjoy the soup!

[Susann]

Well said,MrsReber. Most of my friends don't cook. They feel that me being able to produce meals and treats is somewhat akin to brain surgery-that is how alien cooking is to them!!

To me, cooking is so easy, so fun, so relaxing. When I have to go a few days without creating something in the kitchen, I feel like I am missing something in my life. So again, I agree with you that it is very exciting to know that there are still those of us who relish the creative process (and the end result!!) http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[Beth]

We enjoyed the Thai Shrimp Bisque too.

Our family is really odd....my husband cooks too. But my brother and sister's families both do a lot of eat out, take out and frozen doodahs, as my mom calls them. Have people stopped learning how to cook? My 4 & 7 year old help in the kitchen and are eager to do more. Last year, my older son would ask to watch Food TV. He still likes it, but I think now Animal Planet is numero uno.

[JennyLiz]

Mah- we loved the Thai Shrimp Bisque, but making the shrimp broth was too labor intensive when I have to get dinner on the table for a husband and two hungry kiddies.

Do you think the flavor would suffer that much if I skipped that step? JennyLiz

[This message has been edited by JennyLiz (edited 07-28-2000).]

[MrsReber]

Mah, I haven't tried the thai shrimp bisque and I do not like to eat seafood. Sometimes I wish I liked it because it all looks so good. Plus, we really like to fish. My husband has to eat all the fish! I am in the northeast, too, and we have lots and lots of green tomatoes, but no red ones yet. I am dying for my plum tomatoes to turn red so I can make my own sundried tomatoes. They come out so much sweeter than the ones in the store. I will have to see what other soup recipes I have that I can share. I have so many I haven't tried yet. I am dying to try the CL tomato basil soup recipe- might be in this month's but I think it was July.

I have to share this- my sister was never much for cooking. Now she has two litte ones, five and three. They ask her if they can "help" her cook by pushing the buttons on the microwave! I told her that if she starts cooking, she'll have to pretend the food came out of the microwave so they'll eat it!

[JennyLiz]

Mrs Reber, you sun dry your own tomatoes?! My only attempt at it they never dried enough and then molded http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/frown.gif

Let me know when you try the Tomato Basil Soup. I wonder if I used canned tomatoes, if it would destroy the flavor? After all this talk about good homemade cooking on this thread, and I'm looking for shortcuts... http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

Loved the story about your sister's kids. I think you have to start young, teaching them what is good and bad for their bodies, or they'll grow up thinking french fries count as a vegetable serving! -JennyLiz