Tomato Soup and Feeding America

It is not very often that I see so much symbolism in food, let alone a bowl of soup.  I could probably find that symbolism if I was less focused on myself and more focused on the world surrounding me; for that I blame a broken heart.  But that, my friends, is another story.

You may be asking yourselves why suddenly I am so concerned with a bowl of soup.  Well, it all started at the grocery store a few days ago.

I went to the produce section, and while looking for some zucchinis, I spotted a metal buggy with a sign that read "must sell."  It was full of produce, that although mushy, with blemishes or just over-ripped, looked pretty good to me. There were bags and bags of yellow and red heirloom tomatoes that normally cost about $4.99 a pound. I got two pounds for $1.75. Seriously, these were great savings to me, but I was curious as to why these perfectly good tomatoes were in the buggy with other veggies. 

So, I asked the produce guy what the deal was with the food, and he answered me in a very apologetic way. The food in the buggy was produce that people would not buy despite the fact it was still good. Then we went into a conversation about the waste of food in the U.S. and how it always made him feel bad when he had to throw the food away just because people don't buy it unless it looks perfect. That got me thinking:

Are we consumers to blame for the waste of perfectly edible food in America with our high standards of perfection? 

With that thought in mind, I went home and pondered what to make with my tomatoes. All kinds of recipes came to mind, but they all felt too fancy for the delicious, albeit blemished, tomatoes. Something about them seemed so humble and simple.  And then it struck me: what can be more simple than tomato soup? So I got to work. Below is the recipe I came up with to make this bowl full of deliciousness.

Roasted Heirloom Tomatoes and Zucchini Soup

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. heirloom tomatoes (cut into 1 inch chunks
• 2 zucchini (chopped into 1 inch chunks)
• 6-7 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 T chopped rosemary
• 2-3 T olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 420 degrees F.
2. In a large baking sheet, pour all the ingredients and mix to coat all the veggies.
3. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the zucchinis are soft.
4. Once cooked, pour the content of the baking sheet (to include all the juices) in a blender and pulse until the soup is smooth. If it gets too thick, just add water or chicken stock little by little.
5. Add salt and pepper as needed and serve.