The dark tomatoes in the upper right are Black Russians, dark throughout and the sweetest tomatoes we've tasted. The soup was nearly a third Black Russian. This batch put six quarts in the freezer and lunch on the table. I wonder what next week's harvest will bring. It looks very promising. One slice of potato-tomato stuffs a sandwich.
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Here is the soup recipe Adelia Kreider, we five brother's grandma, jotted into a book in 1919, the year J. Robert Kreider, our father, your grandfather and great grandfather was born. This recipe survived through the efforts of Aunt Rachel W. Kreider, wife of our Uncle Leonard. She and brother Evan saw fit to include this and a few other recipes in "A Genealogy Prepared for the Descendants of Lloyd and Adelia (Stover) Kreider". Thank you Aunt Rachel and Evan, this soup has been enjoyed by so many of our family and friends. This is the 14th year that I've made it.
Note the figures for fall wheat production that year.
Making lumpy soup the first time after spending hours to parboil and skin the tomatoes and peel the onions, I jotted notes in the left margin to help me the next time not only eliminating the lumps but also saving a huge amount of time and effort It is incredibly simple and easily done with the instructions below. Leave the butter out and it is strictly vegan.
Ready for the food mill.
Chilled and ready to freeze.
4 comments:
1/4 c salt? I don't get that much in a year! (Well, I think.) But they all lived to a ripe old age, every one of them, so maybe our genes don't mind salt after all. Great story. Glad you are using the book and its recipes. I included them on whim, thinking they gave the book sometime that might connect us with our ancestors (more than just names, dates, and stories).
Then I can thank you too for including them!
A lot of us need to be mindful of our salt intake so here's the breakdown.
The recipe's 1/4 cup equals 4 tbs equals 12 tsps. This batch made about 6 1/2 quarts or 26 one cup servings (I usually serve a little more even though this is a very filling soup) so the salt measurement would be about a half teaspoon per serving. Grandma probably used fine grain table salt in her day and I always use the larger grained kosher salt which is 1/3 less salt per equivalent measure so it's not too bad, and I use a bit less than the recipe's 1/4 cup and add a fair amount of black and white pepper and make sure that more pepper is handy when Bruce is around... Yum! I'm sure the salt content could easily be cut in half or more to my taste depending on the acidity of the tomatoes. I always taste before adding the salt which is the last ingredient added to the pot. This batch was very sweet and needed some. Next time I serve from this batch I will have sherry vinegar on the table and maybe add a few drops. That should be interesting!
Our Mother, Virginia, showed this post to Aunt Rachel who enjoyed it all very much but did want to correct for the record that it was brother Evan who was responsible for the addition of the recipes. I give thanks to Evan again and hope that he gives the recipe a whirl (unless he doesn't like tomato soup, of course)!
Mark, I enjoyed the "documentary" on creating this beautiful, bountiful, new garden area behind the barn--as well as the legacy soup recipe. I'm looking forward to seeing it next month when I'm there with you and Bruce. The toasted tomato and cheese sandwich looks like a true "beefsteak"! I would love to sink my teeth into one of those.
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