thanksGiving series, Part 11

Are you tired of reading about saving money yet? Hang in there! We may be heading into the annual shopping frenzy, but there are things we can do to be better stewards of the resources God has entrusted to us. It's probably not popular, but it sure is fun! 

Tomato soup was my mama's favorite, and it hurt her terribly when she was diagnosed with Celiac disease and had to give up her favorite Campbell's soup. Nothing I tried really came close to reproducing the flavor she preferred. Truth be told, it's my second favorite (next to pumpkin soup) and my all time favorite when served with a grilled cheese sandwich. If you haven't tried my recipe for tomato soup, you should. It's wonderful and, if not as convenient as the prepackaged Panera Bread soup, it is definitely as good. Maybe better. 

I've bought the Panera Bread soup before, and was happy to pay $10.98 to have it. Actually, I was happy to pay that price until I started this savings/giving project. I took a look at the price and thought, I can do that myself without much trouble and save a considerable amount. It turned out that I found the canned tomatoes and canned tomato paste on sale for 50 cents a can, grew the onions and basil (I count that as free), and bought a gallon of milk for less than $4.00. A very rough estimate of my cost for making the soup is less than $2.00. That's a savings of $8.98! Not bad for making soup that tastes better than what I would have bought! What's not to love about the last of the basil in the garden in homemade tomato soup? Yum! The savings of $8.98 for making the tomato soup brings the total in the savings jar up to $210.81! 

If the truth be told, I'm tired of adding the savings up. I want to write something funny! I want people to laugh and be moved by a touching moral. I don't really want to write about saving money every day. Apparently, what I want to do and what I need to do are not quite the same. Learning to be frugal and a good steward is an important life lesson, but choosing to be frugal and a good steward just for fun and in order to give what we save away is a little different, isn't it? It's not about us at all. This saving to give IS fun to me, but there is a part of me that wants to entertain the ones for whom this is not fun. When that temptation surfaces, I have to remind myself that the One for whom I write takes great delight in saving to give and choosing to invest in the Kingdom of God rather than in my own selfish desires. 

When I look at what that $210.81 can do for the Kingdom of God, I'm stunned. Bibles for young men and women in jail and ready to consider, perhaps for the first time, that they don't have all the answers, fruit baskets for senior citizens living below the poverty level, and blankets for the homeless are all things my Savings Jar can fund. Now, eleven days into the project, that Savings Jar can fund all of that (not just a part of it), and it absolutely astounds me! This is worth doing, and it will make a difference, so if you are ready to move on, too, let's choose to hold still a bit, deny ourselves a little more, and take up the cross and follow the One who denied Himself for us, sacrificing His very life to save us.

"Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.'

The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.' (Matthew 25:34-36, 40 NASB)

TTGLC Soup

The Tuesday-Thursday Gourmet Lunch Club was tossing ideas about in a vain attempt to choose a lunch menu for Thursday. It was raining, cold, and miserable outside. "Let's have something wonderful," one of us said. "Hamburgers on the grill," was another idea. Finally, one of us said, "I'll tell you what I want. Tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches! Yum!" The soup and sandwich idea seemed to lead the vote. 

Late this afternoon, we began to discuss tomorrow's menu again. My boss wanted his wife's tomato soup. "She uses baking soda in it. It's her secret ingredient," he assured me. The only problem was that she was out of town and he didn't have the recipe. Having learned the fine art of googling from my son, I searched for the recipe and was stunned to find a tomato soup with baking soda recipe. Since I had the recipe, I was elected to make the soup, and had every intention of following the recipe. The dogs were racing in circles around the kitchen, though, and I was very distracted. The soup was wonderful, but the recipe was definitely cobbled together (and super easy).  I thought you might enjoy it.  

TTGLC tomato soup

4 Tbsp olive oil

2 onions, coarsely chopped

2 or 3 garlic cloves, chopped

1 can (12 oz) tomato paste

1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes

1-2 tbsp dried basil (to taste)

3 cups milk

Pinch baking soda

Salt and pepper to taste 

Heavy cream for drizzling

Sautée the onions and garlic in olive oil until soft, then add tomato paste and diced tomatoes. Cook 5-10 minutes (longer for richer flavor and thicker soup) then purée in blender, in batches if needed. Return to pot and heat. Sprinkle the baking soda over a few spoonfuls of milk to dissolve, then add this and the remainder of the milk to the soup. Bring to a nice simmer and heat thoroughly. Ladle into bowls, add salt and pepper as desired, and garnish with a drizzle of heavy cream. 

My mama loved creamy tomato soup, especially with grilled cheese sandwiches. Having to give up those rich cans of Campbell's when she was diagnosed with Celiac disease and switched to a gluten-free diet was one of her hardest sacrifices. (Well, giving up Twinkies and Ding Dongs was pretty tough, too.). As I sampled the soup tonight, I wished that I'd had this baking soda soup recipe a few years ago. She would have loved it!  Since I didn't, I'm enjoying it now in memory of my mama. 

When you try this recipe, I hope you think about my mama, too. She loved the beach, MSU Bulldogs, and creamy tomato soup! Yum!