Yellow Tomato Soup

Mother Nature has one hell of a sense of irony. How else to explain how my very favorite hot soup requires an ingredient only available in the sweltering days of summer?

Yellow tomatoes. Heaps of 'em. Available at your local farmer's market right now. When it's actually cold outside? Long gone. Like Mick said, you can't always get what you want.

That's right, folks...step right up! Yellow tomatoes are here for a limited time only. They are the superstar of this delicious soup, but you can also slice them up, toss with olive oil and basil and make a mean bruschetta as well.

But back to the soup. Try to wrap your imagination around this ingredient list--yellow tomatoes, bacon, chipotle peppers, and cream. It is sweet, smoky, creamy and rich. It is yowza with a capital Y. If there is a heaven, I will be greeted at the gates with a bowl of this soup in one hand and a ladle in the other. 

You can totally adapt the recipe to your diet as well. Vegetarians can use vegetable stock and eliminate bacon. To cut the fat, you could use turkey bacon and skip the cream. You'll still get tons of smoky flavor from the peppers, and the texture is pretty thick and creamy on its own.

My plan was to freeze the soup (without the cream) for winter while the tomatoes were still in season. But, of course, I couldn't wait so I sat in my steamy apartment and proceeded to sweat bullets slurping down this hot and spicy wonderfood. It was totally worth it and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I probably will. 

Until we meet again next summer, you sweet young thang. Remember: Mama loves you.