I was strolling through the farmers market one day and noticed loads of heirloom tomatoes. They make me giggle because as we read so many stories about body shaming and people caring about what other people got going on… Well the heirloom tomato comes to the party just they way they woke up in the morning, all unforgiving like. They’ve got curves,colors, blemishes. They can be teeny, plum sized, and ginormous.
Seeing how bountiful and gorgeous the bins of heirlooms looked, I had to take advantage.
Roasted Heirloom Tomato and Orange Soup
2.5 lbs Heirloom Tomatoes
1 large Onion
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
1 tablespoon fresh Thyme leaves
1 cup fresh Orange Juice
1/2 cup Heavy Cream, optional
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Roughly dice tomatoes and onion. Place on a foiled lined baking sheet. Drizzle with a generous amount of olive oil and sprinkle with salt and fresh cracked pepper. Roast for about 30-35 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly.
Once cooled slightly, puree with an immersion blender or a counter top blender (be sure to allow steam to escape if using a counter top blender). You can choose to leave some tomato chunks in the puree or blend longer for a thinner soup.
Place the puree into a large soup pot and place over medium heat. Add in orange juice and thyme. Once soup is simmering, taste for seasoning. You may want to add more salt and pepper. Once the soup is properly seasoned to your liking add in the cream if you wish and serve once hot.
Individual Mac n Cheese
1 serving, 2 oz Penne or noodle of choice
1 Tbsp Butter
2 Tbsp Flour
2/3-3/4 cup Milk
1/4 tsp Mustard Powder
1/2 cup Shredded Cheese (I used White Cheddar), or cheese of choice
Bring salted water to a boil in a medium sauce pan. Prepare pasta according to package directions. Drain.
In the same pan, with the burner on medium heat, melt butter in the sauce pan until simmering. Sprinkle flour over the melted butter and whisk to form a roux. Allow the roux to cook until golden brown. Slowly whisk in milk until it creates a smooth sauce. Start with 2/3 cup of milk. Use the remaining milk, up to 3/4 cup of milk for a thinner cheese sauce. Sprinkle in mustard powder. Add in shredded cheese and stir in until thick and creamy.
Add in drained pasta noodles and fold in to the cheese sauce until the noodles are all covered. Serve immediately.
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