Dark Days Challenge #2: Grilled Cheese Sandwiches and Roasted Tomato Soup

with the holiday looming, i had a pretty good idea that my dark days meal would be my own chickens' eggs, bacon from thundering hooves and bread from a local bakery. then last night i walked into the kitchen to find my roommate cooking the last two eggs. so i did some backtracking and came up with something far more amazing that a simple breakfast for dinner.

a quick trip to the grocery store provided me the local milk and fresh sourdough bread that i needed to make my sunday night dinner a success.

i thawed two quarts of the roasted tomato puree from this september—i especially enjoyed the bright orange color and it made me glad that i made a few all-orange batches. while it thawed i heated up a couple teaspoons of olive oil (from who knows where) with a couple cloves of pressed garlic (from sarah's farm, ideal organics). once thawed i threw it in and heated it up.

once it had been warmed and was steaming the sweet tomato smell i added a cup of pure eire milk. i am not entirely sure of the proper procedure of adding dairy to hot liquids; this time it appeared to separate a little, so i employed my immersion blender which brought the soup to a nice smooth consistency.

when kelly and rebecca arrived i began making the sandwiches.

sourdough bread brushed with olive oil and filled with shredded 'No Woman' cheese from the Beecher's which i am lucky enough to count in my local loop tonight because i happened to be in Seattle this weekend and purchased it at their Pike Place store front (and well, i count that.) the No Woman cheese is speckled with jamaican spices and i found it especially delicious coupled with the sweet Cameo apples i sliced thinly and added. these are the same apples i've been making sauce from but the box isn't quite done.

pears in the picture weren't as tasty as expect, apples came through in the end

we didn't all eat at the same time but we all ate and it was delicious. laptops were still employed, i may have to accept them (well, i do) as a part of the modern day/generation-y casual dinner. viva la viral media? while other bottles of wine were open and enjoyed, with dinner there was The Honorable Pinot Gris by Charles Smith Wines. excellent label, tasty wine.

everything was excellent.
it was a delightful end to what seemed to be a luxurious weekend.

next week...cream of celeriac soup. and...???