I am truly sorry to have missed out on all the fun.
I have finally recuperated enough where I can eat food.
Glad to hear the event was such a great success.

Not sure if we should be posting these here or in shopping and cooking...but here's the recipe for my soup--mods, feel free to move if appropriate.

This is a rough estimate at best—for me, soup tends to be one of those things that doesn’t lend itself well to recipes 

Spicy Cream of Tomato and Bacon Soup (6 servings?):

Two 28oz cans of San Marzano tomatoes
6 slices of good, thick cut bacon or pancetta
1 cup carrot (small dice)
1 cup onion (small dice)
½ cup celery (small dice)
½ cup garlic (minced)
¼ cup olive oil
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp red chili flakes
1 tbsp sugar
Salt and ground pepper to taste
1 tbsp dried basil
2-3 cups chicken stock (hard to say how much til you see the consistency of the soup)
1 cup 2% milk
½ cup sour cream (I used light sour cream and don’t think anyone would be able to tell the difference. Greek yoghurt would work as well)
Chiffonade of fresh basil
Garlic croutons or homemade crackers

Fry the bacon to crispy, set aside to drain. Reserve bacon fat. Chop bacon (small dice).
Drain tomatoes well (reserve juice and set aside), spread on a baking sheet and roast in 450 degree oven approximately 10-15 minutes until dried.
In large pan, sauté onions in bacon fat and olive oil, after about 3 minutes, add garlic, after another 2 minutes, add carrot and celery and sauté until all vegetables soften.
In stock pot, heat remaining olive oil if needed (depends on how much how dry the veggies are at this point) and add in previously cooked vegetable mix and tomatoes, along with thyme, chili flakes and dried basil, cooking until all incorporated. Add in sugar, salt and pepper, chicken stock (2 cups at first, may add more to desired consistency and flavor) and reserved tomato juice and bring to a simmer.
Once heated through, using an immersion blender, puree to smooth consistency. For larger batches of the soup, a blender may be required to get the soup to a smooth consistency—or you can just go with a slightly chunkier soup)
Add in milk and sour cream and continuing pureeing.
Add in bacon and bring up to a full simmer again, cook for 10 minutes, give or take.
Taste, add additional salt and pepper as need.
Garnish with garlic crouton and chiffonade of fresh basil.

Night of the Living Bread.

I'd like to thank everyone who participated and/or contributed to this evening. I was out of town and unable to attend, but the cause you chose to honor, the Asian Youth Center, is most worthy and grateful. The work done there by director Shari Fenton and the services she struggles daily to provide to over 40 at need and at risk children is nothing short of the human spirit at it's finest.

Thank you all once again for your time and generosity. A mitzvah indeed.

i didnt participate in the soup night, but i did get to enjoy a wheat baguette covered in seeds that my friend izzy brought me that had been left over. can someone please tell me where it came from so i can buy it myself? it's vaguely familiar but izzy doesn't know and i thought it was delicious. thanks, justjoan

I believe those came from La Farine bakery:

1461 W Chicago Ave,
Chicago, IL 60642-5234
(312) 850-4019

Did anyone happen to get pics of the soups themselves--I need one of mine for a recipe contest I entered and was hoping to not have to make another batch just to get a picture of it

Happy to give attribution for the photo!!!

if you have one, please pm me and I'll send my email address if you don't already have it--thanks!

mbh wrote:I believe those came from La Farine bakery:

1461 W Chicago Ave,
Chicago, IL 60642-5234
(312) 850-4019

thanks so much, i've always been very impressed with la farine's breads, so i'm not surprised. it actually freezes very well, which is unusual for a baguette. i popped a chunk, sliced in half, into a low oven and had it for breakfast today with butter and milk jam. jj