Putting food by

Hopefully by the end of September, I'll have at least a dozen containers of various sizes with fresh tomato soup tucked into the freezer. I use bruised tomatoes (sometimes called "seconds" or "number 2") from my local farmstand, cut them up, remove the spots, add a bunch of basil, a little homemade chicken stock, salt, and pepper.

The best soup is made by simmering the tomatoes with their skins and seeds, which give the soup terrific body. Then I work it through a food mill to remove them. You can also puree it in a blender and strain it or just press it through a metal strainer. (Another way to do it is to peel and seed the tomatoes before simmering, but that's quite time-consuming.)

I had a bowl last night and it's pretty spectacular. You can only imagine what it tastes like in January.

Summer tomato soup
Makes 3 pints

12 large tomatoes, cored and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 bunch fresh basil (leaves only)
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
Salt and pepper, to taste

1. In a soup pot, combine the tomatoes, basil leaves, stock, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, set on the cover askew, and simmer the soup for 30 minutes.
2. Set a food mill over a bowl. Work the soup through the food mill. Transfer to plastic containers, leaving a 1-inch head space if you're freezing the soup. Leave to cool, cover with the lids, and freeze. Sheryl Julian