for mothers & mothers-to-be
               in rome, italy		  
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Cream of Tomato Soup
Serves 6. This soup is very good served hot and equally delicious served cold on a hot summer day. You need either a blender or a food processor to prepare it.You can double or triple the recipe. It keeps well in the fridge for a few days.

by Lynn Apple

Ingredients

50gm unsalted butter
2 medium sized onions, sliced
3 sticks of celery, chopped in bits
800 gm of canned crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
2 medium sized potatoes peeled and cut in chunks
1 tablespoon soup stock powder (chicken or vegetable works)
250 ml of water
2 tablespoons of brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons of black pepper
1/2 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
6 bay leaves
250 ml milk or cream (I usually double the recipe and use one of each)



Method

1)In a big soup pot sauté the onions & the celery in a bit of butter until the onions are clear. Add all of the remaining ingredients to the pot, except the milk (or cream), and simmer until the potatoes are soft. This takes about about 45 minutes.
2)After the potatoes are ready put this mixture (bit by bit) in a blender or a food processor and blend until the texture is very smooth. (do not remove the bay leaves in... it adds a lot to the flavor)
3) Pour back in the soup pot and add the milk or cream.
4) Heat thoroughly over gentle flame. Adjust seasoning if needed
5) Serve with croutons (see below)


Croutons

I keep these in the freezer.They defrost very quickly.They are great served with the
tomato soup and also served with a green salad.

Ingredients
4 cups of stale bread, cut in cubes. (using the bread crust is optional)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup melted butter
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon oregano

Method
Mix all of the dry ingredients together.
Mix well with the bread cubes.
Mix the butter & the oil then pour it over the bread and mix well
Bake at 180°C (350°F) for about 7 minutes, pull them out and turn them over a bit with a spatula then continue baking for about another 5 minutes...until they are crisply toasted.