Kind of, regarding airline food 183

These look really good! I am one "of those people" who likes beets. And I like Jesse Cool's recipes..I have a few of her books.

Just uncovered one of the books she has ...in the Country Garden Series, Tomatoes.

Here is a recipe from that book, that I really like:

Cream of Roasted Tomato Soup with Parsley Croutons

2 pounds large, ripe, firm tomatoes Olive oil to coat the tomatoes 8 shallots 1 small carrot 1 small fennel bulb 3 tablespoons unsalted butter 2 cups chicken or vegetable stock 5-6 sprigs fresh tarragon 5-6 sprigs fresh parsley Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste 1 cup heavy cream

Parsley Croutons

12 thin slices baguette Olive oil to generously coat both sides of each piece of baguette 3 cloves garlic, cut in half 1/2 cup Teleme cheese, grated 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Cut tomatoes in half, seed them and coat them with olive oil. Place tomatoes in a shallow baking dish and bake for 30 minutes, turning every 10 minutes, until the skins begin to darken and blister. Remove from the oven and let cool. Remove skins and reserve pulp and all the juices. Coarsely chop the shallots, carrot and fennel. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat and saute chopped vegetables until they are very soft. Add the stock and herbs and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes. Add the tomato pulp and reserved tomato juices. Remove the herb sprigs. At this time you can either puree the soup or if you like a smoother soup, run the pulp through a food mill or fine sieve. Season with salt and pepper and extra herbs if you like. Keep warm over low heat. Lower the oven to 400 degrees F. To make the parsley croutons, brush both sides of baguette slices with olive oil and place on a baking sheet. Rub one side of baguette with garlic. Sprinkle with cheese and garlic and bake until brown. Add the cream to the soup and heat untill warm. Ladle soup into warm bowls and float 3 parsley croutons on top of each bowl.

Serves 4

My notes: I find this soup freezes extremely well without the cream. It is nice to make when you have plenty of good ripe tomatoes...and take it out during the dead of winter for a touch of summer. Also, the parsley croutons seem to do better if you bake them slightly before rubbing them with the garlic and topping with the garlic-parsley mixture. I have made this soup as directed, with rubbing the garlic on the baguette slices and topping it with the cheese parsley mixture..and also with baking them slightly before topping with the mixture; it seems to have a better texture if you wait to add the topping.

This is also a very, very rich soup, that is best served either in small bowls, or as the main portion of a meal.

Christine