Homemade Tomato Soup is good.

tomatoe soup

Delicious winter favorite.

I found that creating this recipe and making this dish really made me feel like a kitchen artist.

In the summertime some friends and I had some ambitious plans to make an urban garden and planted some tomato plants. We thought we had green thumbs as the plants yielded an abundant supply of lovely red ornaments. We had so much harvest that we began to put tomatoes into plastic bags and freeze them. When winter came I pulled the bags of tomatoes out of the freezer and let them thaw so I could work some kitchen magic.

After the smoke cleared there was a delicious brew of home made tomato soup. This was the kind of thick and zesty home made tomato soup that warms your bones after a good winter surf and leaves you with that cozy love feeling.

Serve with crackers.

Thank you faithful eaters and readers. Since it is that time of year when all of the urban gardens around town are exploding with tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, corn, broccoli, squash and more it is time to explore this fun and delicious recipe among others.

Using fresh grown produce is satisfying and makes the gardening experience come full circle. The flavors are robust and the freshness is unbeatable even by your local farmers market. Also the nutrition factor is at a premium when your food is vine ripened at home. (My home grown white potatoes have great flavor.)

TIP: A cool thing I learned about the tomato soup was freezing the tomatoes and then peeling them easily as they thawed. Great time saving trick.

I’m a bit of a story teller, as I have had some great experiences, but as i sit in the kitchen with my beer in one hand and a wooden spoon in the other while telling stories of fighting off spiders and pulling weeds with 3 inch roots with just my left hand while the aroma of cooking goodness permeates the kitchen, I feel the joy Shakespeare must have experienced.

Live long and prosper.

Dude out.

Marinated Fish for Grilling

marinated fish

SIMPLY AWESOME TASTING !”

Halibut, Chilean sea bass or shrimp work well. In this photo you see thick fresh halibut fillets and fresh sea bass fillets after having been soaked overnight in a delicious marinade I found at a local Santa Monica market.

The marinade is an island blend sauce that was perfect. I then topped the mix with a pineapple ring, covered and let sit in the fridge. The ingredients pictured in the pan were thrown on a grill for a few minutes on the patio of a local architectural firm for a ‘Friday Fun Lunch’ organized by a cool office manager. The fish was served with potato salad, grilled shrimp, grilled salmon with a rosemary lemon sauce and a side of mixed fruit chutney and it was simply delicious.

Buddhist Delight Stir Fry

stir fry

Easy, quick and delicious.

Take bok choy, grape tomatoes, broccoli, green or white onion and other desired veggies from the fridge, wash and dice to desired size. Crushed peanuts or shaved carrots would go well in this dish.

Warm some olive oil in a pan on medium heat. You can add soy or teriyaki sauce later.

If adding chicken, add to the oil first and let cook up a bit. If adding shrimp they can wait.

Add veggies with a couple tablespoons of water and cover, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking and promote even heating. Add soy or whatever sauce you like with any dry spices about 6 minutes in after the veggies have had a chance to soften up a bit in the simmer. Continue to simmer for 10 minutes depending on heat level.

When it looks ready to eat, scoop a heap on a plate over some warm rice and serve. For a lovely extra flavor, stir in drained pineapple chunks to the pan about 5 minutes before removing from heat.

Be thankful. Eat. Enjoy and be happy. Be thankful some more.