Homemade Tomato Soup

Fall always is a telling reminder of the bounties of the earth and how much the Lord provides for us. Often, the bounties of the harvest feel like a burden to me. When there is squash, zucchini and tomatoes consuming my kitchen, it makes me feel overwhelmed....it means I have to put thought and effort into my meals in order to use them all up. But instead of getting overwhelmed, this fall I am trying to focus on what a blessing it is to be provided by the Lord in so many ways and it truly is a blessing to have access to so much. I have friends in different parts of the world who truly depend on the Lord at times for their next meal, because there are times in their lives when they aren't quite sure where their next meal will come from, or if it will be there at all. There have been times in my life where I have wondered that as well for myself, but it's at those times when you see the hand of the Lord in your life the most, providing for your needs.

So instead of complaining to myself about the "burden" of figuring out what to do with so many tomatoes, I decided to be excited for an adventure in teaching myself how to make my own tomato soup...it's a great way to use up the tomatoes and it definitely taught me that if I thought canned tomato soup was good, then I was living a lie my whole life...cause MAN this stuff, homemade, is DELICIOUS!!!!

Ingredients
4 to 5 cups chopped fresh tomatoes
1 onion, sliced
4 whole cloves, peeled
2 cups chicken broth
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons white sugar, or to taste
Directions
In a large pot, over medium heat, combine the tomatoes, onion, garlic and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, and gently boil for about 20 minutes to blend all of the flavors. Remove from heat. Place the mixture into a blender and puree. Strain the pulp if you want a smooth and creamy soup, leave it if you like it how it is (I like to leave mine how it is, just like I like to leave the pulp in the orange juice).
In the now empty pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the flour to make a roux, cooking until the roux is a medium brown. Gradually whisk in a bit of the tomato mixture, so that no lumps form, then stir in the rest. Season with sugar and salt, and adjust to taste. Eat with buttered toast, grilled cheese, or just eat it by the spoonful...double it to make room for plenty of seconds!!!