Fruits of the Earth

Last weekend we visited some friends in Nashville and ended up coming home with a plethora of veggies from their garden. I'm kicking myself, because I forgot to snap a photo of their adorable little garden scene.

I came home to an overflow of cherry tomatoes from my little tomato plant. So, what's a girl to do with all these tomatoes?

I am not your token vegan or anywhere near a paleo pusher, but this veagan recipe turned out to be absolutely delicious.

With the vine ripened tomatoes I decided to whip up the vegan, roasted tomato soup and with the cherry tomatoes, my signature bruschetta for girls night.

Roasted Tomato Soup:
-2 lbs vine tomatoes 
-1 sweet onion, chopped 
-1/2 tsp sea salt + 1/4 tsp pepper 
-1.5 Tbsp dried Italian herb blend 
-a few sprigs of fresh thyme 
-2 Tbsp lemon juice 
-2-6 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil 
-2 cloves of garlic

1.) Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 


2.) Add tomatoes to a roasting pan and chop and add onions to pan. 

Before

After

3. Add the lemon juice, olive oil, Italian seasoning, fresh thyme sprigs, optional garlic cloves and sea salt to the tomatoes and onions. Add in the fresh thyme. You will remove the thyme stems after roasting. The liquid should form a shallow pool for the veggies to soak in as they roast. You can use more or less olive oil depending on how rich you want your soup - as the excess liquid will be poured into your soup blend. 

4.) Roast 45 minutes-1 hour

5.) Literally, throw it all into a blender and Boom! You're done. 

Cherry Tomato Bruschetta:

-1 loaf of french bread
-Olive oil for brushing on sliced bread
-Shredded Mozzarella cheese
-Fresh Basil
-Balsamic Vinegar 

1.) Slice the bread and place on cookie sheet and brush with olive oil

2.) Preheat oven to broiler and toast bread for 5-10 minutes

3.) Slice cherry tomatoes in half and place on toasted bread, add shredded cheese, and drizzle with balsamic.

4.) Place back in oven for cheese to melt and tomatoes to cook a bit. Around 5 minutes.

5.) Sprinkle with basil

Now, don't think you're getting out of here before we talk about cocktails, infused ones at that. 

Infused Vodka: 

-mason jar

-vodka (your choice)

-rosemary (or mint would be nice too)

-1.5 lemons

You can get more creative with other fruits, but this seemed like a refreshing option that you could pair with tonic, lemonade, lime juice, etc.

It should sit in a dark area for about 3 days, but I couldn't wait that long. 

For the cocktail:

-2 ounces of infused vodka

-4 ounces lemonade

-sprig of rosemary (optional)

You've got the cocktail, the hors d'oeuvres, now just add friends!

Cheers!