The Perfect Pair
I wasn’t kidding when I said this month is dedicated to Valentine’s Day inspired posts. This week I made tomato soup with cute little grilled cheese hearts for my dipping pleasure.
STIR
Tomato soup and grilled cheese was something that was available daily in my cafeteria in elementary school. I never really realized they were supposed to go together until years later when it was too late to enjoy the convenience of this tasty pair.
For my tomato soup, you’ll need:
2 28-oz. cans crushed tomatoes
olive oil
1 shallot, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
¼ cup tomato paste
1½ teaspoons sugar
¼ cup (or more) unsweetened almond milk
½ teaspoon dried rosemary
½ teaspoon dried basil
salt and pepper to taste
Parsley for garnish
Sauté the shallots and garlic in olive oil, then add the tomato paste until it begins to caramelize. Add in all the other ingredients, except the milk and let simmer for at least 10 minutes (the longer the better). Add almond milk and let simmer for at least another 5 minutes. I used almond milk instead of heavy cream to make it a little bit lighter and less lactosey, but if please feel free to rev it up with heavy cream! Take the pot off the heat and let cool for a bit before putting into blender (I used my Nutribullet). If you’re fancy and have an immersion blender, now is your chance to use it! I want one. Pour the soup into a bowl and garnish with parsley.
For my grilled cheese hearts, I used Beurdell butter, my all time favorite butter. I slathered it generously on both sides of my bread, slapped it on a hot pan, flipped it, and set it aside. I slapped the other slice onto the pan, flipped it when golden brown, cheesed it with cheddar, and then put the other slice on top and covered the pan with a lid to let the cheese melt. Grilled cheese and tomato soup are the perfect pair, so I decided to celebrate their love by making heart-shaped mini grilled cheese sandwiches using cookie cutters. Dunking these hearts into the soup was somehow so much more satisfying than just a normal grilled cheese. Try it!
STYLE
I got this I Love H.81 romper while vintage shopping on Haight St. in San Francisco a couple years ago. Although not at all new, it’s still in great condition and a go-to for sunny days or to throw on over a swimsuit.
I wore this romper and dressed it up with a pair of BCBGeneration wedges for Valentine’s Day brunch in Laguna Beach. My boyfriend is always full of surprises and drove me down on his day off for a romantic beach-side champagne brunch. I’ll save our love story for another day, but I’ll say right now that he’s perfect for me and I pinch myself everyday to make sure I’m not living in a dream. I’m getting all giddy writing this, so I’ll stop here before hearts start coming out of my eyes.
Thanks for reading and please don’t hesitate to contact me or email me with your own love stories, your favorite way to make grilled cheese sandwiches, or anything else that’s on your mind! I hope that your month, year, and life are filled with love, doing things you love with those you love!
My Everything…including my photographer :)