What am I to do when my fledgling potted herbs are pummeled by torrential rain and my family is hungry? Make tomato-basil soup and grilled cheese sandwiches.

Since I hadn’t planned on making soup (or dinner for that matter) I must admit I was kind of scrambling when 5 o’clock rolled around. Adding to the stress was the sight of my first attempts at gardening collapsing under the weight of a torrential rain storm caused by an historic hurricane many miles south of us.

Here’s what I pulled out of the pantry:
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 cup chicken (or veg) broth
1 yellow onion (diced)
3 large cloves of garlic (peeled by a 3 year old- you can peel them yourself if you’re running low on 3 year olds)
2 carrots
1 bell pepper
4 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp white pepper
Kosher salt
Fresh cracked pepper
Olive oil

From the fridge:
1/2 cup white wine
1 cup grated parmesaen cheese

From my pummeled potted herbs outside:
2 lightly packed cups of fresh basil
3 sprigs rosemary

While my husband chased the kids around did the following:

Sautéed the onions on medium high heat on a large sauce pan a pinch of salt and enough olive oil to lightly coat them until they started to get color. Then I added the finely diced carrots and added more salt, pepper, and olive oil to flavor and prevent sticking. After about 2 minutes I added the chopped garlic and bell pepper to the pan party.  Sautéed all of this mirepoix-y goodness until the carrots became tender. Deglaze the pan with the white wine and add the white pepper, smoked paprika, and a good few grind of fresh black pepper.  Add the whole rosemary springs (you’re going to pull them out before you puree the soup) and both cans of tomato-juice and all. Simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the moisture has significantly reduced. Remove rosemary (I say it twice because you do not accidentally want to blend these tough little sprigs)

Add about two cups of broth, tomato paste, and 1 cup of chopped basil. Remove from heat and puree with an immersion blender (my favorite kitchen tool). You may need to play with the liquid to get it the right texture. Allow to simmer for about 5 minutes. Add remaining  basil and puree again slowly adding about 2 tbsp Olive oil. Taste and add more or less of the white sugar to adjust for the tartness of the tomatoes.  Add parmesaen cheese. Serve topped with chiffonade basil and parmesaen cheese.

While all of this soup making was going down I baked the grilled cheese sandwiches in the oven. Buttered bread, three slices of cheese each at 450° for about 5-10 minutes.

The whole thing was a hit with the family, and my precious herbs didn’t go to waste!