09-21-2026 — Re-soupified

Howdy all. We are stuck in the expected fall weather pattern for next 10 days or so. Most lows approaching 50, and highs in mid 60s. Drizzle many days, and winds running at 15-20 mph with lots of 30 mph gusts. Hey, gotta make the leaves die and fall.

That made me think of something. Here is an update on that north side of the house that got the spraying of Spray and Forget.

Look at how clean the upper floors are, after just a few rains. It will protect the wall for a couple of years — hopefully.

Today was tomato soup making day. I took the harvest from a couple days ago, and cleaned, prepped, and chopped them all into the pot. It wasn’t enough, for me, this time. So, I brought back a bag of the frozen ones, that had some onions. I added that, and some more of my frozen onions, and small sweet pepper that I prepped and chopped into chunks. I don’t think any of my peppers outside will grow with the coolness this week.

Oh, I tossed in some basil and salt and garlic about now too. That pot will easily hold 3 gallons of liquids.

After 2 ½ hours of stewing/boiling, and meeting the stick blender more than a few times, It was looking like a fine tomato sauce.

This was time for final seasoning. A touch more salt, enhanced the sauce to be flavorful. But, it still was marinara sauce in my taste buds opinion.

And here is how to change it to a soup. Add a little sugar to reduce the sharpness of the tomatoes. I added probably a little under a quarter cup to this 2 ½ gallons of mixture. And then, to make it a “tomato soup”, add dairy. Butter is perfect. It gives the soup a silky feel, and a smoothness to the taste.

I added a stick and a half — all I had in fridge.

For serving, I put down a layer of cream in the bowl before the soup.

Actually, I used way too much cream. It slightly reduced the tomato punch. And adding cheese and crackers was a total mistake Certainly didn’t need them.

So did I consume the whole thing before freezing again. Not this time.

I’ll have the black lidded container over the next couple of days. The bottom two will be headed to the freezer, after their chill down period in the fridge.

Some nice hot homemade tomato soup will be perfect on one of the many subzero days that will be coming in the next few months. While I’m not ready for the snow/ice, the soup will certainly help in the effort to Enjoy Life