It's been pretty chilly here in the Tennessee mountains at night. To me it's too early in the year for it to feel chilly. Whenever the feeling of fall is in the air I get in the mood for soup. I was able to harvest five tomatoes from my garden so far and I decided it was perfect weather for homemade tomato bisque. Something about tomato soup makes me feel all warm inside. I really enjoy making any kind of tomato based soup from scratch. I was very excited to cook with my first harvest of garden tomatoes.

This recipe is adapted from this recipe at Real Housemoms

Ingredients
5 Tomatoes
6 tablespoons sugar
1 Onion
2 Celery Stalks
2 Garlic Cloves
1 can Hunts Paste
32 oz Chicken Stock
2 Cans Condensed Milk
Salt/Pepper/Paprika to taste

Step 1: The first step is to remove the skin of the tomatoes. Boil a pot of water. Nearby put a bowl of cold water with a handful of ice cubes in it. You take your tomatoes whole and throw them in the pot. Boil them for 1 minute then take them out and immediately move them to the cold water. The skin should peel right off using this method.

Step 2: Remove the skin and cut off the stem. My homegrown tomatoes had a few spots on them probably from bug damage. I cut those spots off. I cut them in half and then in half again. Then I set my tomatoes aside.

My Lovely Pot Of Skinned Tomatoes

Step 3: Cut up an onion and 2 stalks of celery. When the soup is fully cooked you'll puree it all so size of piece doesn't matter. I cut my onion in half then cut a half in half. I threw half an onion total into the pot. I cooked both it and the celery until the onion was translucent before adding my garlic. I cooked the onions, celery, and garlic until I smelled the strong smell of the garlic in the air (about 3 minutes).

Step 4: Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, chicken stock, sugar, and spices. The tomato paste is the thickening agent.The sugar helps cut the acidic taste of the tomatoes. Depending on the size of your tomatoes you might use more or less than me. Six tablespoons worked for me.

Step 5: Cook on medium high heat for 30 minutes. Once it is cooked puree the mixture. You can throw it in the blender or food processor. Or if you have a hand immersion blender like me you can blend it in the pot. Puree until completely liquid.

Step 6: Add the two cans of condensed milk. I only had condensed milk on hand but heavy whipping cream also works. Condensed milk is one of my most used ingredients in my kitchen so I always have plenty in stock.

Step 7: Enjoy!!