Creamy Tomato Soup--The Perfect Head Cold Remedy

So, Guest Blogger Tommie stepping up to the plate (HAH! Get it?) tonight. Tracy and I teamed up to create this lovely, DAIRY-FREE(!) taste sensation. The creaminess comes from leeks, and it is amazingly delicious. We have a number of friends who make this regularly, and we're glad to pay this recipe forward. And tonight, I strapped on the J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS apron (a most excellent Christmas gift) and got my soup nazi on.

It's pretty easy to cook this one, except when you have to handle this electrical devise called an "immersion blender." Clearly, I was not checked out on this, and I was, according to Tracy, "white-knuckling." But, don't worry, I hung on for dear life, and nary a wall was splattered.

The soup turned out great, particularly with a couple pieces of toasted wheat bread that Tracy made yesterday. This dish remains, as always, a "5." Even with our colds, it was awesome.

Linguine with Leeks and Tomatoes

Crazy news: I used a different Jack Bishop cookbook! I was in the mood for a new pasta this week, and so I visited Jack's The Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook, and found this recipe. Tommie and I are thrilled that I did, because this dinner rocked.

Aside from the linguine, there are only a few ingredients: leeks, extra-virgin olive oil, tomatoes, fresh thyme, and of course, salt and pepper. The hardest part of the recipe was finding enough thyme to use from my garden, as it's getting colder and colder here, and my herbs are ready to fly south for the winter.

Neither of us wanted to put our forks down. I over-ate, and then still got depressed when I realized my stomach was about to rebel on me if I didn't stop eating. Therefore, this dish also gets the full 5 stars. We've eaten some good food this week. I hope I can keep it up!