Experience Fall Foliage and Roasted Soups - Roasted Tomato and Basil / Mushroom Barley with Roasted Red Pepper

You will love these soup recipes but first please take a tour of what fall is like in my backyard. I have been wed to this land a long time and never tire of its beauty, especially in autumn. There is a chill in the air and a calm on the farm. The fall crops are bursting with ripe vegetables and I harvest most of them for my comfort soups that satisfy me anytime of day. Enjoy the pictures and savor the soups. And please follow Divvy Up Dining.

Roasted Tomato Soup

3/4 pounds fresh tomatoes 

6 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced in half
2 small yellow onions, sliced
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 quart vegetable stock or 4 vegetable cubes to 1 quart water
2 bay leaves - be sure to remove before blending
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves,

1/2 cup whole milk or heavy cream, optional

Directions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Cut tomatoes into halves and spread the tomatoes, garlic cloves, basil leaves chopped and onions onto a baking dish. Drizzle with 1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 30 to 45 minutes, or until caramelized and browned on tips.

Remove roasted tomatoes, garlic, basil, and onion from the oven and transfer to a large stock pot. Add  vegetable stock, bay leaves, and butter. Heat to a boil then quickly reduce heat and cook for 20 to 30 minutes on simmer or until liquid has reduced some. Remove bay leaves.

Use an immersion blender to puree the soup until smooth. Return soup to very low heat and add milk or cream You can add a bit more salt and  pepper. Garnish in bowl with a basil leaves

Mushroom Barley with Roasted Red Pepper

In a saucepan saute in 1/4 cup of olive oil until softened but not browned

1 pound white mushrooms

1 small onion sliced thin

1 clove garlic chopped

1 red pepper seeds removed and sliced thin 

Add, bring to a boil and then quickly turn down to simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until barley is tender

2  - 15oz cans of vegetable broth or 4 vegetable cubes to 1 quart of water

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup barley

about 1/2 tsp fresh thyme or dry thyme

about 1/2 tsp fresh or dry marjoram