My mother and I have always shared a passion for August tomatoes. Those fresh-off-the-vine orbs of succulent red yumminess. A farm fresh tomato, at it’s peak of ripeness, simply tastes like summer.

Now that I’ve moved San Francisco I am haunted by guilt. I have discovered tomato nirvana and my mother is not here to share them with me. Of course, I am not allowing this guilt to stop me from indulging in tomato gluttony. Yesterday I made my pilgrimage to the farmers’ market and picked up seven pounds of gorgeous Early Girly tomatoes.

When I returned from the market yesterday I de-stemmed and halved my tomatoes. I covered large baking trays with parchment and covered them with tomato halves. Then I brushed on a little olive oil and a sprinkle of kosher salt. They went into a 200 degree oven for about 7 hours. I read about this method in Molly Wizenberg’s A Homemade Life and have been obsessively roasting tomatoes ever since.

This morning it was time to take those roasted tomatoes and make soup.

Sandee’s Roasted Tomato Soup

• 1 large sweet vidalia onion chopped
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 7 pounds Early Girl tomatoes, slow-roasted
• 3 cloves of garlic chopped
• 1 box organic vegetable broth
• 1 large can of whole tomatoes (I used Trader Joe’s)
• 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar

Directions

Melt butter and warm olive oil together in a large soup pot over medium-low heat. Add onions and let caramelize slowly. I kept mine on the stove for an hour. Then add garlic and raise heat slightly to soften garlic.

Add roasted tomatoes, vegetable broth, and canned tomatoes. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Add red wine vinegar and adjust salt.

Let simmer for an hour and then remove from heat. Puree in batches. Adjust seasoning and serve.

I firmly believe that grilled cheese sandwiches must be served with tomato soup. At the market we also grabbed some delicious Toma from Point Reyes Cheese Company. We’ll be grilling that on sourdough bread for lunch. Sorry, Mom!