Garden Tomato Soup

You know those recipes that are just so delicious you want to share them with everyone you know? Well that is my Grandma's tomato soup recipe. It is so savory and packed with veggis it makes a complete meal. It has become a favorite in our house, and in the homes of the friends we have shared it with.  Now it's always on my must-make list for canning season.  This is a huge recipe, so make sure you have an oversized pot, or else cut the recipe in half.  It will make about 16 pint sized jars of soup.

Garden Tomato Soup

1 Stock Pot Tomatoes (about 2 ice cream pails)

2 Tablespoons Paprika

1 Cup Butter (NOT Margarine) 

2 Tablespoons Salt

1 Teaspoon Pepper

5 Large Onions

2 Green Peppers

1 Cup Brown Sugar (or you can substitute apple sauce)

6 Cups Celery

5-6 Carrots (or a small bag of baby carrots)

1 Cup Soup Base (I use chicken stock)

1 Beet for color (optional)

Chop up carrots, onions, green pepper and celery into large pieces. You can see here that I only cut each carrot and celery stalk once or twice, and quartered the onions. Toss the veggis into a large pot and fill with warm water until the level of the vegetables, not quite covering the tops. Boil on medium low for 1/2 an hour to soften the vegetables.

In the meantime, halve and core your tomatoes (or if the tomatoes are large you can quarter them). No need to remove the seeds though - they will all get blended into the soup later on. Place tomatoes into an oversize soup pot. Add butter, paprika, salt, pepper, and soup base. I have never tried using margarine but my grandma insists it will ruin the soup! I took her word for it since it is her recipe :) Turn element on to start warming the tomatoes and getting the juices flowing, stirring occasionally.

**if you choose to add a beet, chop it and add it in. I didn't use one this time because I had no beets in the house.  They do give the soup a lovely color though.

Pour hot veggis and their water over the tomatoes. Add the brown sugar, and then give a light stir. Dont worry too much about blending everything evenly at this point, there will be time for that as everything softens and the tomatoes release their juice.

Simmer on low for about 1 hour, stirring occasionaly. The soup should look similar to this when it is finished.  Turn element off and let soup cool to room temperature or only slightly warmer. This step is VERY important. 

Once the soup is cooled, ladle it into your blender, and puree the soup. Pour into a seperate bowl. I used my large tupperware Thatsa bowl and it just barely fit the entire recipe.

Once your entire batch of soup is nicely pureed, pour it back into your soup pot and bring the soup back to a boil.  Using a funnel, ladle the soup into warm, sterilized jars.  I filled 4 quart jars and 8 pints.

Process in a warm bath canner for 15 minutes. Set on counter overnight and check seals.  To use soup, dilute with equal amounts of water OR milk. (1 jar soup + 1 jar water or milk).  Be sure when reheating not to bring the soup to a boil if you are using milk, or the milk will curdle.  Enjoy your delicious, garden fresh soup!!  My whole family loves this soup - even the kids! It is such a treat on a cool fall day.