What to do with a garden surplus

My first inclination is to give it away!  However, my neighbors are likely as tired of cucumbers and tomatoes as I am.  Two years ago, we had a crop of 1,800 tomatoes.  This year was not as abundant, probably due to the inconsistent weather that we've had.  We still ended up with a LOT of tomatoes.  Our best producing tomato bush is the one that we have tilled under year after year, and it keeps coming back in the same place!  It was an heirloom tomato bush that we purchased from a farmer on the side of the road for $1.  It looked rather straggly and we felt sorry for it. Three years later,  I now refer to it as Father Abraham.

Last night's crop.

Just about the time this morning that I began to wonder what to do with all of these tomatoes, my 11 year old son begged me to make homemade tomato soup.  Here's my favorite, oh-so-simple recipe.

Tomato Soup for Two

2 cups of pureed, fresh tomatoes (skin and all, I throw them into my blender)
1 tablespoon of butter (I use ghee, which is an excellent grass fed source of vitamin K2)
1 tablespoon of flour
1 cup of milk or cream
1/2 teaspoon of sugar
1 teaspoon of dried basil (or fresh, if available)
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon sea salt or garlic sea salt (if you use iodized table salt, cut back the amount slightly)

In a saucepan, heat the butter until melted. Add the flour and stir to blend.  Quickly add the cup of milk or cream and whisk until smooth.  This is your classic white sauce.  Add the 2 cups of pureed tomatoes and the remaining ingredients.  Heat through, then remove from heat. Cover and allow the soup to sit for five minutes before serving to allow the flavors to blend.

You can substitute nearly any vegetable for the tomatoes in this recipe, I just used what I had in abundance.  In the past, I have made cream of asparagus, cream of broccoli and even cream of celery when needed for a recipe.  Some vegetables require steaming them to soften them before pureeing.

Enjoy!