Every time my mother comes to visit, she brings me whatever is currently in her kitchen that she is not using. The fact that she cooks pretty much every meal and I cook about four times a week is lost on her. Any utensil, gadget or ingredient that isn’t currently getting work in her house gets shipped off to Brooklyn. Although its a sweet gesture, its pretty amusing that I own a salad spinner, a potato ricer, a fish spatula and a pizza cutter. *

This is why I happen to have a random collection of vegetables I would not typically buy for myself in my kitchen this morning. Two red peppers, four over-ripe tomatoes and a bunch of rosemary. I am typically not a fan of red or green peppers and had kept them for a week not really knowing what to do with them. Since I am a big fan of soup, I decided to use my most valuable kitchen implement - the great immersion blender - and make them into a soup.

This was simple, quick, and delicious. It made just enough soup for two people and can be seasoned in a variety of ways.

Red Pepper and Tomato Soup

Ingredients:

• 2 red peppers
• 4 medium tomatoes
• 1/2 yellow onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• spices (more on this)
• 2 splashes Tabasco,
• 3 tablespoons heavy cream,
• salt and pepper to taste

Method: Coarsely chop the peppers, tomatoes, onion and garlic. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter and oil in a large pot. Add vegetables and cook, stirring frequently so not to burn. When tomatoes and peppers start to “melt” and express juices, add chicken broth, tomato paste and spices.{SPICES - you can use a bunch of different spices with these flavors. Today I used 1 teaspoon of sweet paprika and a few sprigs of rosemary. But fennel pollen/fennel seeds, tarragon or hot paprika would work too. Whatever you have in the house, just try and keep it to one note.}

Bring to a boil and then lower hear. Let simmer for about 10 minutes.

{FLAVOR CUBES - Often you get weird leftover ingredients. Like mashed potatoes or in this case tomato paste. There is a reason I bring up these two particular ingredients. Usually recipes (annoyingly) call for only a tablespoon of tomato paste, and it typically comes in 6 ounce cans. Take an ice cube try and line it plastic wrap. Fill as many “cubes” as you can with tomato paste. Freeze, and when frozen, store in a ziplock bag. When another recipes call for just a tablespoon of tomato paste you can use a tomato paste cube from the freezer. In this recipe I used two mashed potato cubes I had in the freezer for some added texture. Flavor cubes work with just about any puree or liquid.}

Once simmered, add salt and pepper to taste and use an immersion blender to puree the ingredients together. I like my soups to have a little body so don’t puree them completely smooth. If you don’t have an immersion blender, too bad for you. You’re going to have to suck it up and move the soup in small batches to a regular blender, which is tricky with hot soup. Next time you’re out splurge and buy a damn immersion blender. You could get a cheap one for under $20. Once blended, stir in heavy cream and the other tablespoon of butter.

Often finishing a dish with cream and butter is a crutch for poor cooks, but in this case I think it really adds to the soup.

Enjoy!

*It should be noted that I buy my own useless kitchen gadgets as well, like the pocket-pie/ravioli/pirogi/calzone makers I purchased almost a year ago and still have yet to use, especially when I know if I actually wanted to make any of those things I could just seal them closed with a common fork. So maybe that’s why she assumes I want the other barely useful items…