Food mill makes tomato soup

I spent a few days late last week scouring the basement to find my handy-dandy, long-trusted food mill. I actually own a couple of them, and have always relied on the old-fashioned type (in the wiki picture) to make tomato soup in late summer (i.e., now) and applesauce in the fall. I always picked them up at garage sales for next to nothing, though I see you can buy modern ones for a lot more.

Making tomato soup with tomatoes from my garden is a rite of summer. Even more so this year since my tomatoes were crap last year, so I couldn't make any then (and have had none in the freezer to eat in a while!)

It's simple: wash and quarter tomatoes; throw them in a big pot and cook them down on medium high heat. They soften in an hour or so... Cook uncovered so they boil down a bit.

I then covered mine and left them out overnight. In the morning, when they were cool, I ladled some into the food mill (set atop another pot) and milled away. The mill separates the seeds and skins, and leaves just wonderful, clear tomato soup. You can cook it down as long you want, and season to taste - mostly with sugar, sea salt, and a bit of ground pepper.

I froze about 8 containers of this and am a happy camper. We'll pull them out in the fall and heat up the soup, and throw in a couple cups of cooked elbox macaroni. A simple, nutritious soup for a quick meal. Yum.

Now I'm hoping the tomatoes keep on coming so I can make some more.

Did I mention I loved my food mill!? I have to make applesauce this fall. Mmmmm....