Roasted Tomato Carrot Coconut Basil Soup

We did a little Costco run on Sunday and of course, the food tasters were out in force! It's funny, because I don't eat most of the stuff they are giving out as samples, and what's more, I don't even want it. I did, however, taste the Basil Tomato soup. So did Lee and Taylor. They wanted some! It was like, $4.50 a pint and I said I could make it.

"Just like this?" Lee asked? Silly man...better! I will use fresh basil and tomatoes! and carrots and coconut milk! Mmmmmm!

We had picked up some fresh basil from the Mt. Olive booth at our local farmer's market. Mt. Olive is a supplier for SLO Veg and we had taken a "field trip" to their farm last year. I said hello to the guys and told them I am a SLO Veg customer. That's always fun. I am enjoying going out the the markets again and running into suppliers. I think I can connect with them better because of my SLO Veg experience.

Roast the vegetables

I searched for recipes and found this one on SLO Veg that looked really good. So that would be my starting point--I began roasting some vegetables. I had two large red tomatoes, two fat carrots, a yellow onion, garlic cloves, and what the heck! I threw in a handful of baby carrots and some sliced yellow peppers that I had in the frig, leftover from my vegie platter I made for my friends' recent weekend outing.
So I found two recipes, and I sort of combined them for my into one for my soup.

After the vegies had roasted for 45 minutes or so, I took them out and let them cool down. I peeled the roasted garlic cloves and popped them into the blender carafe, followed by my roasted vegetables. You may want to do this in two batches. I added enough chicken broth to fill the carafe halfway up and pureed the mixture. Then I opened a small can of tomato paste and clipped off  8-10 leaves of basil and pureed the mixture again.  Then, because my blender was full, I pour the puree into a large storage container and stirred in the coconut milk, Now its all ready for heating and eating! I think I will have some right now for lunch, though!


My Roasted Tomato Carrot Coconut Basil Soup

2 large red tomatoes
1 yellow onion
2-3 medium carrots
4 garlic cloves
1 small yellow sweet pepper
olive oil
1 6 oz. can tomato sauce
salt and pepper

basil leaves
1 15 oz. can Lite Coconut Milk

Roasted vegies

Add tomato paste

Cut the vegetables into large chunks. Coat with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast in the oven at 400 degrees for 45 minutes. Cool. Peel garlic and put the cloves and all the other vegies into a blender. Add some chicken stock until it fills the blender about halfway and puree. Add in a small can of tomato paste, 8-10 fresh basil leaves, pepper and salt to taste. Heat puree in saucepan with one can of coconut milk. Serve will grilled cheese sandwiches or cheese quesadilla wedges.

Stir in coconut milk and heat and serve

Mt Olive basil

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http://www.sloveg.com/printRecipe.cfm?recipe_id=666

Roasted Carrot and Tomato Soup with Basil 

Yield: 6 Servings  

Ingredients:
Nonstick vegetable oil spray 
1 large onion, thinly sliced 
2 pounds plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise 
1 pound carrots, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch-thick
  rounds 
2 garlic cloves, unpeeled 
1 tablespoon olive oil 
2 1/2 cups water 
2 3/4 cups (about) low-fat (1%) milk 
1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh basil 

Preparation: Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray large rimmed baking sheet with nonstick spray. Arrange onion, tomatoes, carrots and garlic cloves on prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast until vegetables are tender and brown, turning occasionally, about 55 minutes. Cool slightly. Peel garlic cloves. Transfer vegetables to large bowl (do not clean baking sheet). Add 1 cup water to baking sheet, scraping up browned bits; add to blender, then add half of vegetables and puree until smooth. Transfer to large saucepan. Add remaining vegetables and 1 1/2 cups water to blender and puree. Transfer to same saucepan. Gradually add enough milk to soup to thin to desired consistency. Stir in 1/4 cup basil. Simmer 10 minutes to blend flavors. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 6 hours ahead. Cover; chill. Bring to simmer before continuing.) Ladle soup into bowls. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup basil and serve.

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http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/carrot-ginger-coconut-soup-10000001701566/

Ginger Carrot Coconut Soup
 Ingredients

• 12 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 small chopped onion
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 teaspoon minced peeled fresh ginger
• 1 medium chopped red potato

• 8 chopped carrots
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1 small chopped red bell pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
• 1/2 cup cubed apple or pear (optional)

Preparation

1. Cook broth in a large, heavy saucepan, reducing it by half to concentrate flavors.
2. Heat oil in a medium sauté pan. Add onion and garlic; sauté 3 to 5 minutes, or until onion is translucent.
3. Add ginger, potato, and carrot; cover and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add coconut milk and bell pepper; cover and cook 5 more minutes. Add reduced broth to vegetable mixture; season with pepper. Cover and cook until all vegetables are tender.
4. In blender or food processor, puree soup in small batches until smooth. Adjust seasonings.
5. Serve in warm soup bowls. Garnish with apple or pear cubes, if desired.
Variation: Garnish with a combination of scallions and chopped fresh parsley or cilantro.