I’m about 4 years in to having my own backyard vegetable garden, and I have to say that each year has been wildly different and a huge learning experience. Which really is to say that I have no clue what I am doing and it’s going to be a long time before I feel like I do. The first year, we planted our garden in too shady a spot, which we only realized when the leaves were back on the trees. The next year, we moved the garden a few feet forward but the trees had grown too and it didn’t help much. Last year, we put in a raised bed smack in the sunniest part of the yard and had a little more success. We had a decent amount of peppers, but most of our tomatoes got blossom end rot and we only got a single zucchini from four plants. This year we thought we had it all worked out. Three raised beds in the sunny part, beautiful rows of tomatoes, peppers and zucchini, and with pretty herbs in containers all over the patio. With the warm weather starting in April, we just knew we were going to have a bountiful haul.
And we are having a bountiful haul…of tomatoes. Our peppers are having a rough go of it and seem to be rotting from the inside out. They look great, but just before they fully ripen, they start to get soft spots and then they rot and fall off. Oh and we planted some jalapenos that have no heat whatsoever! Our little serrano peppers are doing well, but that’s it. And the zucchini seems unlikely to produce a single fruit this year. There are plenty of male blossoms, but the female ones seem to shrivel up and die before they even get started. I’ve researched that one a bit and we think we know the problem but it’s not something we can do anything about until next year.
So, back to the tomatoes, of which we have a gazillion and I am having a hard time keeping up. I figured out that the blossom end rot from last year was from inconsistent watering, so I made sure to give them a little water every day this year. And with the incredibly warm spring, we’ve had ripe tomatoes coming on since the middle of July. I’ve already canned 7 pints of tomato sauce and have made numerous salsas, salads and soups. I’ve given large bags of them to friends. And right now on my counter sits a large bowl of tomatoes threatening to go bad before I can get to them. I see another round of canning in my very near future!
I planted several varieties of tomatoes, including some beautiful yellow ones. I find that they actually have a little less flavour than the red varieties, but I just love the golden colour peaking out among the green leaves. And the yellow grape tomatoes are seriously prolific, growing wildly out of control and spilling over the tomato cages and back over onto the ground. They do have a tendency to split when we get some rain and then some hot weather, and they ripen so fast that I find myself with bowls upon bowls of them on the counter. When I get too many, I roast them with a little olive oil, salt and pepper, and they taste like candy! And although it isn’t exactly soup weather yet, I’ve already made several batches of this soup. It’s heavenly! I like to add a little hot pepper to give it a kick, but it tastes wonderful without as well.
A delicious soup bursting with fresh, summery tomato flavor. Add a little hot pepper to give it a kick, or enjoy as is!
- 2 lbs yellow tomatoes (grape, cherry, Lemon Boy, etc.)
- 1 medium onion
- 1 hot pepper (serrano or jalapeno, optional)
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 1/4 cup fresh basil chopped
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan optional
- Preheat oven to 425F.
- Wash and core tomatoes and cut them into quarters. For smaller grape tomatoes, cut them in half. Cut onion into quarters. Remove stem from hot pepper and cut in half.
- Place tomatoes, onion, hot pepper and garlic cloves in a glass baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with oregano, salt and pepper and then toss to combine. Spread in a single layer.
- Roast 30 minutes, until tomatoes have caramelized.
- Transfer to a large stock pot and add chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce temperature and simmer 20 minutes. Adjust seasonings as desired.
- Transfer to a food processor or use an immersion blender and puree until smooth. If using processor, you may need to do it in two batches.
- Serve and sprinkle with fresh chopped basil and grated Parmesan, if desired.
Makes 8 servings. Each serving has 6.3 g of carbs and 1.3 g of fiber. Total NET CARBS = 5 g.
Laurie says
Hi Carolyn,
Your soup looks delicious. I did not have a good crop of tomatoes this year, but my green beans have been doing great. I’ve canned some dilly beans, eaten some raw, and cooked a lot of them. I have the same problem with my squash plants, the baby fruits stop growing after they are picky finger sized and just die. What did you figure out to fix it?
Dionne says
Hey C! Perfect timing! Q wants to make tomato soup this week, just like a character in one of his books.
Linda says
Have had lots of zucchini but they have died now and no idea why. Still have some yellow squash. Have some tomatoes still alive that might put on if it ever cools off.
Melanie says
This looks wonderful! Before my blood sugar issues, I used to make Spiced Yellow Tomato Preserves with my yellow tomatoes but after I became pre-diabetic, I didn’t know quite what to do with them all. Now I have a new recipe to make with them. Thank you!.
Kiersten @ Oh My Veggies says
I just discovered roasted tomatoes this summer (I’m not crazy about tomatoes, so it took me a while!) and they are pretty much my favorite ingredient ever. I love this soup and I love your gorgeous yellow tomatoes!
claire @ the realistic nutritionist says
This soup is stunning!! Perfect for fall.
Russell at Chasing Delicious says
I love all sorts of tomato soup and I adore the color the golden tomatoes turn this soup. Lovely!
Sarah says
I can so relate to your gardening issues. This is my second year gardening and as my husband said, “How do all these bugs find us?!!” Organic gardening is rough.
That soup looks awesome and I must make it at once. Thanks!
Alison @ Ingredients, Inc. says
This looks awesome! I am going to have to make this!
Stephanie @ Eat. Drink. Love. says
Tomato soup is so comforting and this looks so good!
Sommer@ASpicyPerspective says
Carolyn, that looks lovely! Gorgeous color!
Brian @ A Thought For Food says
If only I had been patient enough to hold onto some of our yellow tomatoes… I could have made this incredible looking soup.
Lana @ Never Enough Thyme says
What an absolutely beautiful tomato soup! I love yellow tomatoes, Kellogg’s Breakfast is my favorite, but I don’t think I’ve ever made soup with them. I’m definitely going to do that soon.
Carolyn says
There’s a tomato called Kellogg’s Breakfast? REally???
The Mom Chef ~ Taking on Magazines One Recipe at a Time says
Oh, thank you for leaving a comment at my place. I’ve had you on my blogger reader thing, but you must have switched to wordpress because I didn’t even realize I wasn’t seeing any posts from you until you jogged my ever-failing memory! I now follow you on facebook so I won’t miss anything anymore.
Your garden is definitely a labor of love! We have too many trees to plant one so I understand what you’ve been going through. The tomatoes are gorgeous; congrats on that success!
The soup looks and sounds amazing, though I have to admit that the sound of your roasted ones that taste like candy made my mouth water.
Carolyn says
I have you in my google reader too…but I never look at it so it does me no good!
Alyssa | Queen of Quinoa says
Gardens are tough! I helped my Mom with her garden a lot this summer and it’s funny how somethings thrive while others just pitter patter along and don’t produce squat. We had great tomatoes, herbs coming out of our ears, the cukes were beautiful but our zucchinis were the real show stoppers. They were HUGE!! (as you can see from this recipe, they were the size of hamburger buns: http://www.queenofquinoa.me/2012/08/herbed-turkey-burgers-with-zucchini-buns/)
Anyway, your soup looks and sounds delicious. It would pair perfectly with a freshly toasted grilled cheese sandwich. Mmm I think you may have just sparked dinner 🙂
Jeanette says
I love the golden color of this soup Carolyn. I used to have containers of vegetables, but gave that up a few years ago after chipmunks and other animals continued to nip away at all the tomatoes. Now I belong to a CSA, but I do dream of having a garden again one day.
Julia says
This soup looks very appetizing. I clicked over from Tastespotting.com
Outlander Kitchen says
This looks simply delicious! Golden cherry tomatoes are the only ones I’ve ever had ripen on the vine…but if you want kale or chard, I’m your woman! Love your new look too…Theresa
Rebecca says
Carolyn, I thought I was the only person in the world who had failed at growing zucchini, lol. I am having the same problem as you. Do you mind me asking what your research turned up? While Zukes won’t grow, we have been blessed with a good tomato crop. Thx for the soup recipe — it sounds amazing.
Carolyn says
The female flowers won’t open when the plant is stressed. In our case, my husband crowded too many together, but it can be a lack of nutrients in the soil as well. I did actually hand pollinate a few of the zuchs (I had to rip a bit of the flower open to do it) and it seems to have worked for 2 of them. The others are still shriveling up.
rebecca says
i made this soup. it was delicious. i am adding this recipe to my favorites. roasting the tomatoes gives a ricH flavor. i did not add the pepper. i used a stick blender and then strained it.
Sarah says
Hi! I wanted to let you know I included this recipe in my harvest recipe roundup. Thanks! http://dashandapinch.com/2013/09/harvest-recipe-roundup/
Carolyn says
Thanks!