I am continuing with my comfort food these days, which are soups and stews.
I need comfort right now with the nonsense that is going on in the world and the country. The restaurant where I work has been open for take out for three days and we did very poorly. I fear for my income. However the owner's other restaurant is doing insanely well so there is hope. It's just weird to work around sixty hours a week, then suddenly work thirty five hours.

The good part is I get to enjoy more time making my own food in my own kitchen.

Tomatoes are a good price right now. It's unfortunate that I was not able to get the ones from Marc's parents garden that I grew when we lived there.

When I saw these tomatoes in the bargain bin I thought of tomato soup. It use to be one of my favorites growing up being raised by my father who had a bunch of cans ready to open for my my dinner. He let me pick out any kind I wanted. I often picked tomato.

I knew that Marc would complain if I just made a tomato soup for dinner, so I added some tofu and pasta. I also made bread from a dough that I had made for naan bread, in my last post.

The tomatoes were roasted in the oven for around half an hour along with onion and garlic.

The skin of the tomatoes were removed. The tomatoes, onion and garlic were blended until smooth.

I added one tablespoon of tomato paste to add a little thickness.

Then the seasonings which were 1 teaspoon oregano, 1 teaspoon thyme, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon pepper, 1 teaspoon paprika, 2 tablespoons vegetable broth powder, and salt to taste. The tomatoes were fairly tangy so I added a little bit of agave nectar. Taste as you go. Then add according to your taste. brought it to a boil then simmered on low for the time it took me to cook the other ingredients.

I decided to shred the tofu. I had shell pasta in my cupboard enough for the soup so I cooked it separately.

I added one diced onion, 3 cloves minced garlic and 1 diced carrot, to brown in a pan. Then I added them to the tomato and blended everything with an emulsion blender. I browned the shredded tofu with a little olive oil then added that to the pot as well.

The cooked pasta was added at the end.

Meanwhile with half of the bread dough that I had made the day before, I shaped it into an oval loaf and put it in the oven until it was baked through.

I am not an expert at baking bread but I was quite satisfied with the results.

Bread
3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons dry active yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup vegan butter, olive oil or coconut oil

I don't make a habit of eating gluten bread but sometimes I just want something to feel like I am in the country on a brisk fall day.

I love the tangy flavor of tomato and when they are roasted with onion and garlic it adds a little boost.

Normally I spice everything up but this time it was just a sprinkle of cayenne that did the trick.

Thanks for dropping by!