Brooklyn is Blooming

This morning I kissed my elderly gentleman caller. You might recall my mentioning him. I see him almost every morning as I walk to the subway for work. We pass each other as he makes his way home from church. He walks with two canes, wears a cap, always has a different church lady with him (he's a terrible flirt), and calls me doll. Today he called me over from across the street, handed me a small vial of holy water, and told me to "keep it with you doll, it'll keep you safe." I kissed him on the cheek as thanks and purposely failed to mention that I'm  Jewish... it's only a mere trifling technicality after all.

Perhaps it's something in the air - something in the blossoming trees, but on his way to work today, my husband also had a Godly moment. He was on the platform waiting for his train. There was a school trip of some kind, the platform was crowded with High Schoolers. Suddenly, they all began singing Amazing Grace in harmony. When they were finished, they sang other church songs until the train showed up. He said it was amazing. I can only imagine it was.

On my way home from work last night, inspired by the smells and sights of Spring around me, I decided to make something I haven't made in a long time: Tomato Soup. Some might think cold nights and snow on the ground, but for me, Tomato Soup screams Spring and Summer. First off, tomatoes are at their best in the height of summer and secondly, I don't like my Tomato Soup hot -  I like it cool. This large pot-worth is good for about eight people or two with days of leftovers.

So in honor of things budding, being protected by kindly gentleman callers, and being blessed by kids singing on subways, here is my Tomato Soup recipe.


Cool Dill Tomato Soup

6 large ripe tomatoes (Vine Ripened, Hot House, Heirloom, doesn't matter. You could even use yellow, orange, or purple tomatoes for that matter -  I would only advise to use all the same color otherwise you might get a muddy-colored tomato soup and that isn't terribly appealing. If you can't get them large, use 7-8 medium, or 8-9 small)
3 large Sweet onions (if you can't find Sweet or Vidallia, use Spanish or Yellow, but less of them, maybe 2 or 2.5 depending on size)
3 large garlic cloves
1/3 cup tomato paste
3.5 cups of low sodium chicken stock (you can use veg stock too to make this completely vegetarian)
3/4 cup finely chopped fresh dill (a little more a little less is fine too)
2 cups fat free plain yogurt (if you want to bring this to the next yumm level, use creme fraiche instead)
Salt and pepper to taste

-Cut tomatoes and onions into chunks, place in large pot
-Add garlic, tomato paste, stock, salt and pepper (be sparing, you can always add more salt) to pot, mix and let boil
-Lower to simmer and cook with cover for 15-20 minutes until onions are tender and cooked through
-Add yogurt and blend with immersion blender until smooth (you can also use a blender or food processor in batches)
-Adjust seasoning and add chopped dill, mix
-Let rest in pot and serve either room temperature or let it chill in the fridge for a bit until its cool, not cold

*I always garnish my tomato soup with popcorn, but you can use anything: corn chips, extra dill, even roast chicken or shrimp, anything really.