I would call Simon’s Cycles first official Ladies’ Night a spinning success – even if the word ‘panties’ was batted around enough to make Simon, our male hero of the evening, blush and titter a bit (cycling panties …. my mind was blown!  Panties – not shorts – with a small chamois.  Where have THEY been all my life?!).

A bike shop can be an intimidating place for a lady.  With questions about saddles, chamois and tender private parts, it’s not always easy to approach a group of shop guys to discuss these issues.  So heeding some good advice, the indefatigable Patti Fletcher (AKA Dwarf) along with her merry band of supporters decided to host an after-hours evening at Simon’s Cycles that featured draw prizes, info sessions with time for open questions, after-hours shopping, and of course some libations and victuals.

The Mighty Mel and I showed up to pour some wine, offer some snacks and learn about the latest in all things bike-related, it was a good night had by all.

Thanks Simon’s Cycles, you knocked it out of the park, can’t wait for the next one!

This soup is all about the tomatoes – I use Pattison Farm’s ultra sweet orange cherry tomatoes for this.  Farmer Gerry Pattison freezes a good deal of his cherry tomatoes in order to prolong that summer flavour throughout these dark days and I am lucky enough to have a whole whack of them in my freezer.

The key to this soup is the long, slow roasting of the tomatoes to coax the natural sugars out and intensify the flavour.  Other than some onions and spices, that is all there is to this soup! I don’t even use stock because I think it takes away from the overall flavour, but I do use the liquid that that the tomatoes yield during the roasting process, draining the pan every 15 minutes or so. 

If you don’t have access to your own beautiful summer tomatoes, you can use hot house tomatoes, but toss them with brown sugar, olive oil, a little balsamic vinegar and a bit of salt before roasting to add some sweetness to them.

Yield – approximately 4 litres

Ingredients:

6 lbs cherry tomatoes

1/2 cup olive oil (or more)

4 onions, julienned

toasted and ground caraway

Salt and pepper to taste

Water as needed

Cream to finish – optional

Method:

Toss the cherry tomatoes in a bit of olive oil and roast in the oven at low heat (275) for about 8 hours (if you are using tomatoes that are not in season, toss with the balsamic vinegar, brown sugar and salt at this point as well).  Check the tomatoes every hour and make sure you reserve all the liquid that the tomatoes yield throughout the roasting process.  Set aside the tomatoes and liquid when finished.

In a large pot, add the olive oil and onions; cook the onions until they are soft and translucent, about 45 minutes over medium heat (stir occasionally).

Once the onions are caramelized, add the caraway, tomatoes, and reserved roasting juice from the tomatoes and enough water to reach the consistency you desire.  Cook for about 15 minutes and then puree.  Adjust the seasoning.  Add the cream (if using) at this point.

Serve with grilled cheese sandwiches (my favourite is gouda cheese with a bit of caraway to complement the soup).

Enjoy!