Loud, Smelly, Overwhelming, and Wonderful
Loud, Smelly, Overwhelming, and Wonderful
.... and delicious tomato and bread soup for an easy supper
Hello my friends,
This week is a big one for our small farm. In fact, by week’s end, we will have more than tripled our sheep herd! Fresh lambs are arriving almost daily, which means that much of my time has been gladly filled with caring for little ones and their mamas. (Hardly a bad way to spend the day).
It’s been particularly enjoyable this year, as the kids get older and more capable (and aware) of farm happenings. Everyone loves lambs - how could one possibly not? So while Stuart and I fill feeders, ensure everyone is latching onto appropriately, and change bedding, the kids have lambs tucked up under their arms and napping in their laps while they bicker about what ridiculous name to call this one or that one.
It’s loud, smelly, overwhelming, and wonderful.
Because there hasn’t been as much time this week for cooking as normally allotted, I wanted to share with you a recipe that I make often. For starters, it’s a perfect way to use up stale bread. Side note: I recently read of an old, Italian superstition that for every crumb of bread wasted, one must spend a year in Purgatory picking up bread crumbs off the floor with one’s eyelids. Yikes. While I don’t believe in Purgatory, I certainly do believe in being resourceful - using up stale bread included.
By the way, if you’ve been noticing that your pantry isn’t as stocked with staples as it should be, I would highly recommend getting connected with an Azure Standard drop point in your area. Even with as much food as we grow here on the homestead, I still do a large order (and almost all of my monthly grocery shopping!) with Azure monthly. Azure is also where I source organic grains for my livestock: organic field peas, organic oats, organic dairy ration livestock grain, and organic layer feed as well. None of these are offered in organic at my local feed store, so our grain order from Azure is very important to us.
You can use Azure to stock up on good salt, pepper, oils, grains, canned tomatoes, flours - even supplies like gallon-size vinegars, maple sugar, yogurts, and produce like organic onions, potatoes, storage apples, and parsley. We use Azure to fill in a lot of our gaps for moments just like this - when we need high-quality ingredients at the ready. They’ve been kind enough to extend 10% off for new customers (first time accounts) with orders of $50 or more (not including shipping) to a drop location only with code TEH10. One time use per customer. Expires April 2024.
Once you’ve got the staples on hand, you can be filling the air of your kitchen with perfumed scents of tomatoes, garlic, and olive oil in no time. It’s so intensely warming and wonderful.
Tomato and Bread Soup
Pappa al Pomodoro
Originally posted in The Elliott Homestead Cooking Community, February 2023. This soup is made with very simple ingredients: day-old crusty bread and canned tomatoes. Though the ingredients are basic, the result is a smooth, filling soup that requires little effort from the cook and makes use of staple ingredients, ensuring no good bread goes to waste. It goes without saying but I’ll say it anyway: in a recipe this simple, the quality of ingredients matters immensely, so stock your pantry with the best you can.
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, peeled and finely diced
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon dried basil
½ teaspoon red chili flakes
3, 28-ounce cans of whole tomatoes
6 large slices of stale (or dried) artisan bread
Sea salt, black pepper, and balsamic vinegar, to taste
Finely grated Parmesan cheese, for serving
Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or soup pot. Add in the onion and garlic and saute for 2 or 3 minutes.
Add in the basil, chili flakes, and tomatoes. Bring up to a low simmer.
For a smoother soup, remove the crusts from the bread. Cut the pieces into 1” pieces and add the bread into the soup. Cover the pot and let the soup simmer for 45 minutes over low heat, stirring every 10 minutes or so to ensure it doesn’t burn or stick to the pan.
Season to taste with salt, pepper, and balsamic vinegar. Serve with finely grated Parmesan cheese.
Regardless of what work is filling your days, I hope you stay warm and fill your belly with delicious food!
Cheers,
Shaye