Preserving Summer and a Roasted Tomato Soup Recipe

Happy Monday!  If you’re here for the new Roasted Tomato Soup recipe, that is the bonus content this week for paid subscribers (thank you!)  The rest of the newsletter is free!

I keep politics out of my content, but I cannot allow October 7th to pass without an acknowledgment of the 100? hostages, some of whom are American, still held against their will somewhere in the Middle East.  I have not forgotten them and I continue to pray for their safe return.

Now is the time of year I preserve some bits of summer to enjoy later in the year. I know we can get whatever we want all year, but produce that is imported is generally not as good as locally grown and it can be pricier.  Because I will freeze some things, I make an extra effort to use what’s in my freezer to make space.  Here’s a simplistic way to think about freezing: vegetables must be cooked in some way before freezing - you can steam, blanch, boil, roast, grill, or saute them.  Cool and then freeze.

Fruit you can freeze raw or cooked.  See this post for my method on how to freeze fruit.  There is a technique!

If you have a bumper crop from your garden and you can’t use everything, you can preserve it for the winter.  I am not a canner, but canning is a wonderful option too.  

What am I freezing this week:

Tomatoes | I am going to slow roast them.  They are so lovely added to pastas, sandwiches, on a cheese board or for what I call a “winter caprese.”

Pesto | You know I am a pesto fanatic and it’s my favorite condiment.  Small frozen cubes of pesto defrost super fast at room temp so it’s easy to incorporate into a meal at the last minute. I love adding a dollop of pesto to most soups and even stir-fries (see the cauliflower rice stir-fry in Quicker Than Quick.)  There are many pesto recipes on my site, including my go-to Basil-Parsley (you can do all basil or swap in arugula or cilantro for the parsley), Hemp Seed, Kale, Broccoli, and Mint. If you enjoy other herby condiments like salsa verde, you can freeze that too!

Corn | This method for cooking corn from the Kitchn is genius.  I enjoy corn in cornbread, tortilla soup, dips, and cream corn pudding for Thanksgiving.

Figs | Figs are a great option in smoothies instead of bananas.  Many people don’t like bananas or want to have more diversity instead of using a base of frozen bananas every time.  Figs have a very neutral flavor and blend beautifully.

I love the bags in the Zwilling Fresh & Save system for freezing lots of stuff (e.g. fruit & vegetables, cooked legumes and grains). Here’s the situation with this system - you can get the starter set or just the pump and then you can go with a whole set of bags if you just want to do that.

I use silicone molds like Souper Cubes for stock, pesto, soups and stews, and anything liquidy.  The cookie molds or little cubes are good for freezing the last bits of tomato paste or fresh herbs in olive oil.

Even More Musings is an extension of my weekly newsletter, Monday Musings. My newsletter is a sponsor-free zone and is fully supported by readers like you. Consider becoming a paid subscriber to get Even More Musings! Each week, I share my tips and tricks along with a new recipe. For only $5/month or $50/year (less than $1 a newsletter), you'll also gain access to the entire archive, featuring favorites like My New Hyper-fixation High-Protein Fluffy Breakfast Bowl  and the Hillstone Copycat Emerald Kale Salad.  This week I am sharing an easy and delicious roasted tomato soup recipe to take advantage of the LAST of tomato season.  You can go in different directions with this soup as I explain in the recipe!