White Flower (Isn't that a profound title?)

I love nature shots--I'm not artistic at all, but do snap lots of pics trying to get that shot that is worthy of hanging on my walls. I'm annoyed that I was slightly off-center on this one. Oh well.

Most of my musing is currently going on inside my head. Nothing major, just trying to figure some things out. :)

Dinner was CL's Creamy Roasted Tomato Soup and a salad with red leaf lettuce, spinach, yellow bell pepper, avocado, grape tomatoes, candied pecans, scallions, feta cheese, and a balsamic-apple cider dressing.
Last night was the 2nd time to make this soup--it's a definite keeper. I may make it again for my lunch bunch on Thursday.

Creamy Tomato-Balsamic Soup
From Cooking Light October 2005


Cooking the vegetables at the high temperature of 500° caramelizes their natural sugars and deepens their flavor; the liquid poured over them ensures they won't burn. Prepare the soup up to two days ahead; reheat over medium heat before serving.

1 cup less-sodium beef broth, divided
1 tablespoon brown sugar
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
1 cup coarsely chopped onion
5 garlic cloves
2 (28-ounce) cans whole tomatoes, drained
Cooking spray
3/4 cup half-and-half
Cracked black pepper (optional)

Preheat oven to 500°.
Combine 1/2 cup of broth, sugar, vinegar, and soy sauce in a small bowl. Place onion, garlic, and tomatoes in a 13 x 9-inch baking pan coated with cooking spray. Pour broth mixture over tomato mixture. Bake at 500° for 50 minutes or until vegetables are lightly browned.

Place tomato mixture in a blender. Add remaining 1/2 cup broth and half-and-half, and process until smooth. Strain mixture through a sieve into a bowl; discard solids (I skip this step, making the soup more of a bisque rather than a brothy soup). Garnish with cracked black pepper, if desired.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: about 1/2 cup)

NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 120(35% from fat); FAT 4.7g (sat 3g,mono 1.5g,poly 0.1g); PROTEIN 3.8g; CHOLESTEROL 23mg; CALCIUM 120mg; SODIUM 452mg; FIBER 1.7g; IRON 1.7mg; CARBOHYDRATE 14.9g

Julie Grimes
Cooking Light, OCTOBER 2005