Most who know me know about my lifetime ambivalence towards cheese. It all started when I was four
years old and I went into the fridge to reach for a slice of Kraft
singles. I took a bite and bit into a
hard piece in the cheese which ultimately disgusted me. Since that point I have been extremely, extremely picky about which cheeses I
will eat. Ricotta, mozzarella, and parmesan are all fine as these were pretty commonplace in the Italian foods I grew up on in
New Jersey. Swiss, cheddar, muenster, no…and
do not get me started on brie, blue cheese, gorgonzola or even cream cheese –
the creamier the further I want[ed] it from me.
It really was not until 2009 to 2010 while I lived in Vermont and lived down the street from Grafton Cheese Company that I started to open myself to the possibility of cheese. I tried so many samples of various sorts of
cheddars and gruyeré... Oh gruyeré, my now absolute favorite!
This brings me to grilled cheese. A common food among most children and I refused
to eat it. That is until 2011 when Ryan
forced me to take a bite of his sandwich.
I resisted at first and finally gave in.
Since then I have made many a-grilled cheeses for myself.
The other day I made this creamy tomato soup from Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. What’s
a tomato soup without its partner in crime…the grilled cheese? These are easy to put together while at home,
but I wanted to take the soup and the grilled cheese with me to work.
My workplace kitchen offers the two appliances: a toaster and a
microwave. I was going to figure out how
to make both work for me to make a close enough “grilled cheese”. Recipe follows the soup.
Creamy Tomato Soup
Adapted from Vegetarian Cooking
for Everyone by Deborah Madison
Serves 4 -6
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 small onion, chopped
1 rib celery, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
Pinch of ground cloves
2 tablespoons flour
One 15-ounce can diced tomatoes in puree**
Pinch of baking soda
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock, or water
1 cup milk, plus up to 1/2 cup more as needed
Tomato paste, as needed
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Melt the
butter in a soup pot and add the chopped onions and celery. Cook for about five
minutes, or until the vegetables are soft and wilted. Add the basil and cloves
and cook another minute or two until fragrant, then add the flour. Continue
cooking for another two minutes, stirring, and then add the tomatoes, followed
by the baking soda and the stock.
Lower the
heat and simmer for ten minutes or so. Remove the pot from the heat and
carefully puree the soup in batches in a blender, or using a stick blender in
the pot, off the heat. Return the soup to the heat and add the milk, stirring
to blend. Add more milk or stock if the soup seems too thick. Add a little
tomato paste if it needs more tomato flavor. Add some freshly ground black
pepper and salt, to taste.
** If you can not find the diced tomatoes in puree as I was not able to, you can add the tomato paste later on in the recipe.
Workplace “Grilled” Cheese
Two slices
of bread of choice
Two slices
of cheese of choice
1 tsp butter
Butter one
side of one slice of bread morning before heading out the door to the
office.
Stick slices of cheese in a
baggy along with the slices of bread.
Put both
slices together in one of the toaster slots (butter facing
inside).
Place slices
of cheese between the two slices of newly toasted bread and microwave for 30
seconds.
Presto!
Crispy, buttery, cheesy “grilled” cheese to go along with your tomato soup!
