Summertime Tomato Soup Recipe!

When I grew up, soup was served hot! The idea of a bowl of cold soup never appealed much to my senses, until what started out as a challenge has become one of my favorite summertime soups! A versatile recipe that is quick and easy to prepare, served hot or chilled and prepared all within 30 minutes!

To reduce the preparation time, I like to use canned crushed tomatoes, but if you prefer, a nice bunch of ripe fresh tomatoes can be substituted.

Now let's take a look at the ingredients!

2 large cans of crushed, or stewed tomatoes
1 quart of broth, either vegetable or chicken
1 ½ cups of heavy cream
1 cup of fresh orange juice
1 tsp of sea salt
1 tsp of course ground black pepper
Tabasco sauce
Worcestershire sauce
6 celery stalks-the center leafy ones

Using a medium or large sized sauce pan, combine your broth and tomatoes over medium heat. Allow the mixture to come to a boil, then reduce the heat and add your cream and orange juice slowly, stirring frequently. Season with the sea salt and pepper, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

Remove the sauce pan from the stove and carefully pour the soup mixture into a blender, and puree until the chucks of tomato disappear. You can now pour the mixture into soup cups and serve hot with oyster or saltine crackers.

If you are going to serve as a chilled soup, place the soup cups into the refrigerator prior to serving. Remove from the refrigerator, shake a dash of Tabasco and Worcestershire sauce on top, and garnish with a leafy celery stalk.

This basic recipe allows for many variations and can be tailored to fit your family's palette!