Blender Tomato-Basil and Sauteed Eggplant Soup post

Today was such a beautiful day here in Austin, and I had this craving for some of my Mom’s Tomato Basil soup. My Mom used to make the best Tomato Basil soup when I was growing up. We would go out to the tomato farms that used to be west of Deerfield Beach, Florida, and we would pick baskets of tomatoes. Sadly, those farms don’t exist anymore. I’m growing tomatoes in my Square Foot Garden just so I can have some authentic tasting tomatoes to make up for it. Tomatoes in the store taste like cardboard. There’s just so little flavor. I can still remember the smell of tomato leaves on my hands. That smell to this day still reminds me of my Mom. Mom would never use all those tomatoes. I mean, I love tomatoes and all, but for the love of God man. She picked bucket after bucket. Most of them she gave away to neighbors, but some were reserved for her soup. Now, Mom’s wasn’t the healthiest thing she ever made with all the heavy whipping cream she put in, but it was awesome. So today I made what I call my five minute blender soup. Image that you come home from work, it’s late, and you just want something to eat before you crash on the couch for a few minutes before you handle your home stuff. Or, you have extra friends drop by for a get together and you didn’t plan on four extra friends. Isn’t that always the way? So this is something you can just dump in a blender, zip-zip, and toss in a pot on the stove to warm. This is as easy as it gets. Tomatoes are one of those foods that are all about health and nutrition. Tomatoes are low in Sodium, and very low in Saturated Fat and Cholesterol. They also a good source of Vitamin E, Thiamine, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Magnesium, Phosphorus and Copper, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Potassium and Manganese. They are sort of like a multivitamin in a little sweet, fresh package. This soup also uses sauteed eggplant. Eggplant is high in Potassium with is good for both building muscle and metabolizing food.