Tomato Basil Pesto Soup

The sass is back! Ten months later and making a big splash with soup!

It's a been a very long time since I have shared my love for food, cooking and sharing my passion for preparing meals! For 10 months I've been dragging my feet, with a move to a new apartment, adopting a kitten ( hello Umber!) and repairing a camera that took way too long to finally fix, I am back in full sass! Thanks to all of you who welcomed me back with open arms, it was tough after being gone for so long!

In my 10 month hiatus, I have done and A LOT and learned A LOT about:
-veganism
-dairy-free cooking
-Paleo
-raw food

While some of these lifestyles, and I call them that because they truly define the ways you approach food in and out of the kitchen, are not for me 100% of the time, they all have very valuable characteristics and principles that celebrate food as something to be enjoyed and as a strong force of nutrition as well as energy. I've picked up on a number of tips and tricks that cut corners here and there --they have really helped make prep time, easier, faster and more convenient for home cooks with limited time, without ingredient fatigue.

Homemade vegan pesto is the best. Toasted cashews give it that creamy texture without the cheese!

I have been cooking up a storm in my new place, mostly perfecting existing recipes and also working with things I have at home or whatever is in season (or inexpensive!) at the grocery store. Not only have I been buying more produce, but I've been playing around with substituting starches with hearty veggies. Turning them into pastas and rice, topping them off with tons of protein!

My number one fan, Umber the kitten!

As so this left me thinking  long and hard about my comeback to Kneading Sass; I knew I wanted to make a splash (in truly, sassy fashion!) but I did not want to make anything new or complicated. Simple is my mantra these days. No more than 5 main ingredients --- all of which are easy to find and versatile for everyday cooking. I've also been cooking for the entire work week, saving a lot of money and calories, by making at least two different meals and switching off days to give myself some variety. Keeping all these culinary experiences (some failures, some successes) in mind, I decided to reintroduce myself to Kneading Sass with some soup. The perfect cure for any ailment!

Soup is AWESOME, and I truly believe this for a number of reasons:
- Soup can be prepared in large quantities (and ahead of time!)
- No need to eat it all at once, or even share your soup, freeze it for at least a month!
- Most soups have a base of garlic and onion (sometimes carrot and celery), always got that on hand!
- Not using the exact amount of any particular ingredient won't ruin your soup! (there are plenty of ways to hide mistakes in soup)

Here is lovely, San Francisco, we've finally got our dose of winter...and by winter I mean a few days of rain, cloudy weather and chilly nights. It's the perfect setting for soup

This recipe is gluten free (yay!) and can be made vegan (double yay!). Sip and slurp on this sassy soup..oh and let me know what you think!

Tomato Basil Pesto Soup

Ingredients:

• 3 can of diced tomatoes (do not discard these lovely juices!)
• 3 Tbl. olive oil
• 1 small white onion, diced
  
• 5 cloves of garlic, minced
• 3 cups vegetable or chicken stock
• 3 heaping Tbl. pesto (homemade or store bought) Alternatively, you can use about 1/2 cup of fresh basil leaves roughly chopped instead
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 2 Tbl. agave nectar (or sugar)
• 1 bay leaf
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 3/4 cups of milk + 2 Tbl unsalted butter, melted (combine these two to make half and half-like consistency), optional

Directions:

1. In a large pot, saute diced onions on medium heat, about 5 minutes until they are transparent. Add in your minced garlic and cook for one minute, until fragrant.

2. Add in 3 cans of diced tomatoes, stock, agave nectar thyme, salt, pepper and bay leaf. Stir in pesto. 

3. Bring your soup to a boil, once you see it bubbling away, bring the heat down to a simmer and cover. Let the soup simmer, while covered, for 30 minutes. Don't forget to remove your bay leaf once you are done simmering!

4. Using a blender (LOVE my Ninja blender), or blender stick, you can emulsify your soup making it smoother in texture.

5. Using a ladle spoon, slowly add all your soup mixture into you blender. If you are using an immersion stick then be sure to cool your soup mixture for a few minutes, it is possible that some soup will splatter, so it's best you save yourself from a burner! Or just use a blender, honestly, it is
MUCH safer.

6. Blend soup for about 30 seconds, until smooth. Add in milk mixture and blend again for another 30 seconds.

7. Serve piping hot with an extra teaspoon of pesto on top. Goes great with a gooey grilled cheese sandwich or toast!

For storage, store cooled soup in an air tight container. Without the dairy your soup should be good in your fridge for about 1 and half weeks. With our without dairy, your soup should freeze well for 1-3 months.

Serving size: 6-8 soup lovers!