Roasted Tomato and Garlic Soup Vegan

2015 will go down in the tomato growing record books at the Snyder home.  Grandpa’s seven tomato plants are still producing cherry tomatoes by the handful and it was this abundance of cherry tomatoes that sent us in search of a new recipe.

We both love the flavour of roasted tomatoes and the cherry tomatoes were exactly right for this method.  As usual the refrigerator revealed what else would go into the roasted tomato soup; carrots, celery and homemade vegetable broth.

Friends had recently shared a bag full of this year’s garlic so this recipe at it's base had roasted tomatoes and garlic.

Ingredients:

• Enough cherry tomatoes to cover a 9 x 12 in. baking sheet with sides
• 2 garlic bulbs (12 cloves of garlic)
• Olive oil
• Salt
• Balsamic vinegar  
• 1 onion chopped
• 3 stalks of celery chopped
• 2 carrots chopped
• 4 cups vegetable stock
• 1 tablespoon ground bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon ground thyme leaves
• 1 tablespoon ground basil
• 1 can tomato paste
• 2 tablespoon maple syrup

Directions:

1. Cover the bottoms of a 9 x 12 inch sided baking sheet with parchment paper
2. Drizzle olive oil on the bottom of the pan
3. Roll the cherry tomatoes in the oil coating them
4. Cut the top off two garlic bulbs so that the top of the individual cloves are showing
5. Place these in a corner of the pan
6. Drizzle olive oil over the garlic
7. Sprinkle a generous amount of salt on the tomatoes and garlic
8. Drizzle Balsamic vinegar over top of the tomatoes and garlic
9. Bake for 1 ½ hours in a 350 °F Oven.
10. Remove from the oven and let stand
11. Drizzle olive oil in the bottom of a soup pot
12. Sauté the chopped onion and celery until the celery turns bright green
13. Add the vegetable broth, carrots, herbs, tomato paste and cook until the carrots are tender
14. Remove the roasted garlic cloves for the paper skins and add to the soup pot along with the tomatoes.
15. Simmer for 25 minutes.
16. Use either a food processer or a handheld blender being very careful not to burn yourself, blend everything that is in the pot into a smooth thick soup.
17. Add the maple syrup stir this in and serve.

From Our Table to Yours

Grandma Snyder

©2013 – 2015twosnydergirls

Sometimes We Just Need A Warm Hat

The sewing guild that we belong to last year sewed preemie hats and some of us knitted preemie hats.  Our local hospital was very happy to accept our donations.  

As the fall is now upon us consider making hats for your local hospital to provide to parents for their infants as they leave the hospital because

Sometimes we just need a warm hat.

Links to patterns including the one in this post:

1. http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/preemie-hats-for-charity
2. http://www.redheart.com/free-patterns/preemie-hats
3. http://thedaintydaisyblog.blogspot.ca/p/preemie-patterns.html
4. Strawberry Hat Pattern that I used

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2015 twosnydergirls

Fall Colour Has Arrived

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2015 twosnydergirls

Gratitude Name Cards Thanksgiving

We have been on a journey this year to be mindful of those things we should be thankful for - a journey of gratitude and so as we looked around for a craft for our grandchildren this Thanksgiving we knew we wanted gratitude cards.

With our granddaughters we looked around Pinterest where we found lots of food crafts, we will post closer to the Canadian Thanksgiving Monday October 12, 2015 on this and we found the beginning of our craft.  On Pinterest we found examples of napkins where you would right what you are thankful for.  

This was very close to what we wanted the difference was we were looking to challenge ourselves and our (grand)children to think about how we are grateful for each other.  Now with the beginning of an idea we went to one of my faviourite sites The Graphics Fairy  here everything came together.  Emily came up with the idea of an autograph book where everyone would write down how they are thankful for the person named on the cover.

Step #1:  Picked out a graphic design that you like we used French Wreath Engraving download this to the computer.

Step #2: Using a photo editing program we use PicMonkey put in the saying you want and each person's name

We positioned 4 labels to an 8 x 11 inch piece of paper and printed this on white card stock paper.

Step #3: Printed the face page and cut out the the design and a blank back page out of card stock weight paper.

Step #5:  Cut out of writing pages to size so that everyone in the family has a page to leave their message on. (each of our booklets had 12 writing pages)

Step #6: Punch two holes through each stack of papers and tied the booklet together.

Step #7:  While  working on the booklets talk to your (grand)children about each person on the list, discussing with them what each person brings to their lives - what they are thankful for.   As the children came up with their own thoughts about a specific person write these down on a sheet of paper.

Step #8:  Finally sit down with your (grand)children and began filling the pages of the gratitude table name cards. 

Happy Thanksgiving 

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2015 twosnydergirls

Perception As Limits

Grandma I can't do that!

You can fill in that with almost anything, that our youngest grandchild has not experienced or tried - she is not a risk taker and her perceptions is that she will fail and failure is bad.

It is her perception not her ability that is limiting.

She is not alone, many of us perceive our abilities to be less than they actually are, that failure is bad and so we limit our options accordingly. 

Our perception needs to be cleansed, we need to open the door of our perception to the infinite possibilities that each day presents us with.

As parents and grandparents encourage your (grand)children to try new things and wherever possible frame failure within a positive growth context.  

And model this by opening yourself up to new experiences and finding humour and hope within failure.

Be mindful that perception is not a truth it is a thought construct made from what the past has presented you with. 

Keep your perceptions of yourself and others open to the influence of the infinite set of possibilities your future holds.

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2015 twosnydergirls 

Sow in Peace

Just prior to this verse the followers of Jesus were arguing about who among them was the greatest and in 2015 we are still arguing about the same thing!

Little has changed from the time of Jesus.

Why do we want to be the greatest?

Those who are the greatest hold power and make the rules.

Those who are the greatest get to write the history books and define who was right and who was wrong.

Those who are the greatest get to decide who are entitled to help and who is not.

Those who are the greatest have wealth and can do what they want.

Yet we are called not to be among those who struggle for power.  We are not to sit in the council chambers of the rulers

We are called to be the least, to be servants and to welcome, weakest and the smallest among us.  Those who hold no power at all: children.  In doing this we welcome God the most powerful, the Lord of all into our midst.

Seek peace through the example of children who give without expecting anything in return.  Children who are by nature live in the moment, willing to forgive and finding joy in all things.

Welcome children into your life, be with them, listen to them play and watch them to understand the lesson the Lord has for you.  And together let's learn to sow peace as children of God.

Grandma Snyder

©2013 - 2015 twosnydergirls