Garden Tomato Soup {Hello Fall}

It seems only fitting that after weeks of sunny days and warm temps, that today, the first official day of Fall, should descend upon us with foggy, drizzly, gray skies. The last couple weeks have been a flurry of activity around here (hence my spotty blogging) and an abundance homegrown produce...namely tomatoes!

So say you have a lot of tomatoes on hand... And say you've already made salsa, bruschetta, your favorite cherry tomato pasta dish and more with them. If you're like me then you may consider enjoying some of the season's freshest tomatoes in another format: a creamy and savory, chunky garden tomato soup!

My recipe is always very improvised and unmeasured. I start by sauteing some carrots, celery, onion, and garlic (all roughly chopped) in a little olive oil and a bit of butter. While that's cooking, I chop up a bunch of tomatoes. When the veggies have sauteed about 10 minutes, I add in the tomatoes and broth. (This time I used 2 cans of Swansons Vegetable broth...but chicken broth works good too.) Add in the seasonings (salt, pepper) and herbs (fresh basil, parsley...) and one bay leaf. I really think bay leaves are the magic ingredient to a great soup. I used to mistakenly leave them out and underestimate their necessity whenever a recipe called for them simply because I didn't have any. But a couple years ago I bought some and a whole new cooking world opened up for me! They give soup that extra little something that just makes it! So don't skip them! Okay, so back to the soup...let it simmer for about 20 minutes or so...then stir in a little heavy whipping cream. Enjoy with some rustic crackers & cheese or bread! It's so simple, and I'm pretty sure its rather healthy too with all those veggies, don't you think?

Now, does anyone have any good suggestions for what to do with a zucchini?

Happy Fall!