Roasted Tomato Basil Soup with Crispy Croutons and the Breakdown

Last Friday was my twenty-sixth birthday.

Twenty-six is kind of a ho hum birthday. Twenty-one is awesome. Then twenty-two through twenty-four are pretty cool because you are still celebrating the fact that you can go to a bar and rage.

Quarter century is pretty cool because it’s a major mile stone and then you get to twenty-six. Blah.

So this year, I decided months ago that I wasn’t really going to do much for my birthday. I’ve had major parties three out of the last five years and there was just a lot going on this year. On top of that, there were three other friends birthdays that week. And to really seal the deal, it was my alma mater’s graduation.

For months I said I wasn’t going to do anything for my birthday. I didn’t want to add more to an already over crowded weekend for my friends and family.

With two weeks to go before my birthday, Lindsey B pressured me into agreeing to a birthday party. The only way that I agreed to go ahead with it was if we made sure it was very clear that it was no big deal.

There would be a little food, some drinks, we would chat, maybe play some games and if the mood struck us, we would go to a bar.

For months I had stopped myself from being excited about my birthday, but as my good friends started RSVPing for the now big deal birthday party, I started to let myself feel a little enthusiasm for the event.

The day of, I had a half day at work, a friend brought me coffee, a boss brought bagels for the team and I had a great birthday lunch with my mom.

All was well and the day was great, until one by one people started canceling on my party last minute. Little by little, my spirit sunk. I was bummed. But I sucked it up, went and worked out and felt a little better.

Until I got a text from one of my best friends that she had a “headache” and wouldn’t be making it out for my birthday.

Normally this wouldn’t get me down, but I was down to about five guests for a party that I didn’t even want to have.

Upset is an understatement.

I might have even let a single tear stream down my face.

Honestly, It was the lowest I have felt in a really REALLY long time. I try really hard to be a good friend and it cut me to my core that my closest friends couldn’t find the time to spend an evening with me.

Basically I was being a big blubbering ninny.

They broke me down.

But this soup, this soup brought me back up.

This soup and what happened after my friends broke me down.

But that is a story for another time.

Chew on this in the mean time.

You will need…

For the Soup:

1 ½ pounds roma tomatoes, sliced in half

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 yellow onion, diced

6 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon fresh thyme, minced

1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes

2 cups basil leaves, roughly chopped

2 tablespoons dried basil

1 tablespoon sugar

2 cups chicken broth

½ cup heavy cream

¼ cup goat cheese (optional for garnish)

Salt and pepper to taste

For the Croutons:

1 baguette sourdough bread sliced into ¼ inch slices at an angle

4 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons dried oregano

2 tablespoons garlic powder

1 tablespoon fresh ground pepper

Start by preheating your oven to 375 degrees F.

Spread the tomato halves onto a lined baking sheet and drizzle them with olive oil and season them with salt and pepper.

Roast the tomatoes for 1 hour.

When the tomatoes have been roasting for 30 minutes, melt the butter in a large pot over medium high heat.

Add in the onion and sauté until they start to soften. About 5 minutes.

Then, add in the garlic and the thyme and continue to cook for five minutes.

Add in the crushed tomatoes, basils and sugar and season with salt and pepper.

Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 10 minutes, covered.

Pour in the broth and the roasted tomatoes.

Cover again and simmer for another twenty minutes, stirring occasionally.

While the soup is simmering, lay out the bread slices on a baking sheet.

Drizzle them with the olive oil and sprinkle the pepper, garlic powder and oregano over the slices.

Bake for 10 minutes until nice and crispy.

When the soup is done simmering, pour the soup into a blender and blend until smooth or use your hand blender.

Add in the cream and blend until completely combined.

Serve the soup with a crouton and a couple crumbles of goat cheese.

Love and Beer Floats

Angela

Roasted Tomato Basil Soup with Crispy Croutons