Simple Tomato Soup
With grilled cheese sandwiches, of course. Plus graham cracker houses and joyful rest.
I started writing this newsletter late Thursday night, sitting at my dining room table with a glass of wine and a view of our Christmas tree. I had stopped work earlier than usual on Thursday to dash over to Josie’s school for a holiday music show. As a result, you are receiving my Thursday newsletter on Friday morning instead, which I assume isn’t that big of a deal.
I’m guessing that your life is the same way right now? When our calendars are packed with extra holiday errands and activities, eventually something’s got to give. There is only so much that we can all get done in one day. We have to make choices about what’s most important and accept that choosing to do one thing means something else won’t get done. Or maybe it just won’t get done on time or in exactly the way we want it done.
At this point in the holiday season, it’s hard not to feel overwhelmed. There is still a lot of holiday joy (and stress) ahead of us, plus the usual day-to-day tasks. At the risk of sounding too self-helpy, I’m leaning into “joyful rest” this holiday season. It’s a phrase I made up, but I like it, don’t you?
It’s a reminder that I don’t have to run around like a crazy person to enjoy Christmas, and neither do you. It’s permission to do all the things you want to do, but to also let some things go. Buy fewer gifts, instead of doing more shopping. Read a book instead of cleaning your house. Sit on the couch and watch a movie with your kids. Take a walk in the neighborhood. Enjoy a really good cup of coffee or tea. Go to bed early. Sleep in when you can.
You get the picture. Joyful rest is all about celebrating a slower pace this holiday season.
Simple Homemade Tomato Soup
Have you made homemade tomato soup before? Until this year, I hadn’t and I was genuinely surprised by how easy it is. Homemade tomato soup is also really good. It has an intense tomato and basil flavor and a very creamy texture with no dairy added.
This soup is a simple but delicious dinner, paired with nothing more than grilled cheese sandwiches or a nice load of bread and butter.
You can find a detailed recipe for Easy Tomato Soup on Kitchen Skip. Below, you can take a peek at the 4 steps involved in making the soup.
Saute onion and garlic.
Add canned tomatoes.
Simmer with water, fresh basil, dried oregano and salt.
Puree until smooth.
Holiday Baking
This year my kids are making graham cracker houses (aka gingerbread houses) instead of decorating sugar cookies. Both kids admitted that they don’t actually like eating sugar cookies, they just like decorating them. They’re also older and able to tackle a bigger projects, like gingerbread houses, so that’s what we’re decorating this weekend.
Even for older kids, making houses out of crumbly graham crackers can be a challenge, so I don’t recommend it for really little kids. We decorate with sprinkles, marshmallows, candy canes and pre-packaged cookie icing in squeezable pouches (all found at Target.) This year, I’m following this advice and using melted white chocolate to glue the houses together.
When the houses are done, I’ll post a photo on my Substack chat feed.
If you have little kids and would like to decorate sugar cookies, check out this newsletter about baking with kids from Yummy Toddler Food or these no fuss cut-out cookies from Olivia Mack Mccool.
Dinner Last Week
I’m always curious about what other families are eating. Aren’t you? Here’s what my crew ate last week.
Monday: Broiled tofu, steamed broccoli and Trader Joe’s squiggly noodles with soy and sesame sauce (I added scrambled egg to the noodles).
Tuesday: Salmon, steamed potatoes with butter, sautéed Swiss chard.
Wednesday: I’m testing a recipe for chicken pastina, which will probably show up on my blog in January. Pastina means “tiny pasta” and the dish is a cross between a comforting bowl of pasta and chicken soup.
Thursday: Instant Pot ramen noodles with ground chicken and crunchy shredded cabbage, plus sliced cucumbers and carrots. This is a recipe I’m testing that will be sent to paid subscribers later this month. It’s really yummy!
Friday: We celebrated Hanukkah with latkes, plus roasted cabbage and sausage.
That’s it for this week! Hope everyone stays healthy and has a fun but not exhausting weekend. Remember, joyful rest!
Jenny