Springtime Contests, Winners and Tomato Soup

"Give me a sense of humour, Lord,
Give me the grace to see a joke,
To get some happiness from life
And pass it on to other folk."
~Unknown

I found this little verse yesterday, and it so reminded me of what I try to do here on Oak Cottage, that I thought I'd share it with all of you. It was wonderfully spring-like yesterday here in the country. Our weather machine said it was going to be fine, which makes a change. There was that lovely spring smell in the air and the temperatures really were fair.



In mid afternoon as I was walking home from work, I spotted two collared Doves sitting in our garden under the trees out front. They are resident doves and are quite tame. You can get quite close to them before they will fly off. I don't know much about doves, but I do love to listen to them cooing in the trees. It is such a comforting sound . . . the sound of home.



All around me are signs of new life. That is what I love about spring the most . . . the freshness and newness of everything. The Peonies are popping up through the ground . . . their deep red branches and leaves pushing up through the hard dirt. It seems a miracle to me, that year after year these wonderful things happen without any prompting or cajoling from me.



Little bits of green are appearing everywhere and our rose bushes are covered in unfurling leaves and buds. Ordinary miracles that we take for granted every year, greet me at every turn. There is colour slowly appearing everywhere. This is the true magic of spring, and it seems as if after every shower of rain we experience . . . the garden colours up that little bit more.



One perfect ingredient, many ways to cook it

One competition, 5 LUCKY WINNERS!

Over on Maninas they're having a competition based on using your one favourite ingredient, the prize being, this lovely Marcus Waring cook book. I love a good competition, and I would never turn away the chance to add to my vast cookery book collection, so it didn't take much to tempt me into participating.

My larder, drawers and cupboards are always bulging with a wealth of ingredients, but I would have to say my absolute favourite ingredient is tinned tomatoes. (I bet you thought I was going to say chocolate there, didn't you!!) Tomatoes have always been my absolute favourite ingredient to use and my larder always has at least half a dozen or so tins of them stored, from pureed (passata) to whole, and everything in between. My motto has always been . . . if you have a tin of tomatoes in . . . you always have a meal ready and waiting. They're so very versatile. Mixed with some garlic and herbs you have a delicious sauce to be poured over pasta. Drain and add a cheese sauce along with some cooked macaroni, and you have the most moreish macaroni and cheese that you could ever want to eat. I always keep a tin in the refrigerator, for one of my most favouritest meals that I love to eat, is quite simply, a tin of chilled tinned tomatoes and a slice of buttered white bread . . . there truly is a multitude of ways to use this tasty and most resourceful ingredient.

Fresh tomatoes really only taste at their best during tomato season when you can pick them straight off the vine and use them while their skins are still warm from the heat of the late summer sunshine. The ones we buy during the year at the shops always taste a bit artificial to me and lacking in true tomato flavour, so when it's not tomato season, I always turn to tinned tomatoes to give me that lovely intensity of flavour that you get from a fresh and vine ripened tomato.



This delicious soup is one of my favourite ways to use them. It's the Mr up at the big house's favourite as well. I bet I make this at least once a week, as he never tires of it!! In the summer of course, you can use plentiful fresh tomatoes off the vine, but the rest of the year, nothing tastes or works better in it than a good tin of chopped tomatoes.

*Winter and Summer Tomato Soup*
Serves 6 - 8

This lovely soup recipe contains two variations using either fresh tomatoes or tinned tomatoes, each one creating their own character, allowing you to enjoy this lovely classic any time of year. As much as summer tomatoes can't be beaten for flavour, a good quality tinned tomato can create a sumptuous summer memory in the dead of winter.

2 TBS vegetable oil
1 onion, peeled and diced
1 rib of celery, trimmed and chopped
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
2 lbs of fresh ripe tomatoes, diced
OR
2 (14 oz) tins of good quality diced tomatoes, undrained
1/4 cup sundried tomatoes, chnopped
3 cups good chicken stock
1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
1/2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary (winter)
OR
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped (summer)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup double cream

Heat the oil in a medium sized saucepan and saute the onion and celery over medium heat, until soft and transclucent, about 5 minutes or so.

Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute longer, until fragrant, without letting any of your vegetables brown. Add the tomatoes (fresh or tinned), the sun dried tomatoes, chicken stock and herbs (except for the basil if using). Simmer for at least 20 minutes.

Puree the soup with a hand held stick blender or in a food processor. Strain through a fine sieve. Return to the heat and season to taste with some sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. If using the basil, tear and add it now. Stir in the cream and bring the soup back just to a simmer before serving. Delicious!



Speaking of winners and books, I'd like to congratulate Angie (faveanti)! Angie you are the winner of the cookery book giveaway I did here recently on Oak Cottage! Contact me with your mailing details so that I can get it into the mail to you soon! I hope that you enjoy this lovely book as much as I do! In fact all the recipes in my Make Me Bake Poll come from out of that book this week, so everyone's a winner really! A hearty thankyou to everyone who participated. I promise to do something like this again real soon! It's always so much fun!