Is it winter or spring? I can’t really tell. On Monday we had everything from fog, pouring rain, strong winds and beautiful sunshine. All within a 10 hour period of time. Yesterday was a fair amount of wind and sunshine. Perfect soup weather. There is just something about tomato soup that fits the bill for a lunch time soup.

This is another recipe I’ve adapted from Cooking Light. While I’ve tasted quite a few flops from their site I’ve also come across some really tasty wholesome food. This being one of them. And it is unique. Balsamic and tomato with a bit of beef broth. It’s a strange sounding combination… at least to me it was. But I am really glad I gave it a try because the flavors come together in such a delightful way.

Oh, that’s balsamic vinegar in the glass bottle next to the soy sauce. And brown sugar in the pinch bowl.

All that stuff gets roasted up and pureed.

And to make it smooth? Run it through a sieve… aka press it through a fine mesh strainer with the back of a ladle. Yes, it is worth dirtying a few extra dishes.

So smooth.

Want it even smoother? A little half and half works quite well. Moo.

Pull up a chair and a cat and enjoy the sunshine while it is shining as it will probably be gone tomorrow.

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Tomato Balsamic Soup

adapted from Cooking Light

• Half of a medium to large onion, roughly chopped
• 5 cloves of garlic
• 2 28 ounce cans of whole tomatos
• 1/2 cup beef broth
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 3 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/2 cup half and half (optional)

Pre heat oven to 450 degrees and grease or spray a 9×13 pan really well.

Throw the tomatos, garlic, and onions into pan.

In a measuring cup, mix together the beef broth, brown sugar, balsamic vinegar and soy sauce. Mix in with the tomatos in the pan. Bake 45 – 50 minutes, till lightly brown and roasted. Let cool for about 10 minutes before proceeding or take your own risk and puree a bubbling hot tomato mixture.

Pour into a large bowl and puree with an immersion blender. Or transfer to a blender and puree.

With a fine mesh strainer and the back of a ladle, sieve the tomato puree into a medium size sauce pan and heat through.

If using, blend in the half and half as you warm the soup back up.

Serves 2 generously.