Creamy Tomato Soup for Mom

Welcome to the first recipe on Making the Heart Well! On the face, this recipe seems simple. It has very few ingredients, you can make it in 30 minutes or less and it does not require a lot of culinary technique to put together. I should state here and now that none of the recipes on this blog will be very technical because I'm just an amateur cook who likes to make homemade food for my friends and family. That being said, it's the inspiration behind this recipe that makes it the perfect introduction to this new creative outlet of mine.

So why would I choose tomato soup to debut my new blog? Quite simply it reminds me of my mom. As I write this, I'm fighting the first cold of this season and whenever I'm sick I always crave Campbell's Old Fashioned Tomato Rice soup. When I was sick as kid my mom would make me a bowl of Campbell's soup and a grilled cheese and I swear it had healing powers. It turns out this was one of my mom's favorite meals and she would make it for herself at the same time. Even if we went out to eat as a family at a nice restaurant, if tomato soup and grilled cheese was one the menu 90% of the time my mom would order it.

My mom did not really like cooking on a regular basis. Growing up, unless we were out doing something, we pretty much always had home cooked dinners. She had a standard rotation of soups, salads and casseroles she would make. She understood the importance of sitting down together and eating a homemade meal, both for our health and our hearts. But I don't think the actual act of cooking brought her much joy.

But she loved entertaining and hosting large groups of friends and family especially for the holidays. She would plan out everything and spend hours in the kitchen preparing, usually with a cocktail in hand. And this is where I think my love of cooking and food began . . . in the kitchen helping my mom prep a big holiday meal.

My love of cooking stuck beyond the holidays meals and parties. I started getting interested in nutrition and living a healthier lifestyle through food, I married a man who loves cooking as much as I do and I just really like eating yummy, tasty meals at home. I'm the person who goes out to eat at a restaurant, looks at her plate and says "I can make this" or at the very least "I can try to make this". The kitchen became a happy place for me. It's a place for me to unwind and relax. I think my mom recognized this in me before I ever did.

She loved it when I posted my meals or nutrition tips on Instagram. She pushed me to start blogging and continued to push me when my previous attempts failed (this is my third attempt at starting a blog . . . third times a charm). She pushed me to become a Nutritional Therapy Counselor (I am halfway through the program but had to postpone . . . more on this later). She knew me better than I knew myself. She saw me more clearly than I ever saw myself.

We lost my mom to leukemia in April of this year at 62 years old. This blog is inspired by her. Now more than ever and for so many reasons, I feel inspired to write, create and share. You can expect to see lots of healthy recipes (and some not so healthy . . . it's all about balance), tidbits about my life in Northern Colorado with my amazing husband and our 2 puppies and ramblings about this perfectly imperfect life. It will be real, authentic and hopefully a lot of fun. Just like the way mom would want it.

But for now, Creamy Tomato Soup for Mom. It's simple. The orange juice provides just the right amount of flavor. And it goes great with a grilled cheese sandwich. Enjoy!