1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

10 sprigs thyme, tied together

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1/4 cup tomato paste

2 28-ounce cans whole tomatoes

1–2 teaspoons sugar, divided

1/4 cup (or more) heavy cream

Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper



Melt butter in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add thyme, onion, and garlic. Cook until onion is completely soft and translucent, 10–12 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high; add tomato paste. Continue cooking, stirring often, until paste has begun to caramelize in spots, 5–6 minutes.

Add tomatoes with juices, 1 tsp. sugar, and 8 cups water to pot. Increase heat to high; bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium. Simmer until flavors meld and soup reduces to about 2 quarts (8 cups), 45–55 minutes. Remove soup from heat; let cool slightly. Discard thyme sprigs. Working in small batches, purée soup in a blender until smooth. Return to pot. DO AHEAD Soup can be made 2 days ahead. Let cool slightly, cover, and chill. Rewarm before continuing.

Stir in 1/4 cup cream. Simmer soup until flavors meld, 10–15 minutes longer. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and remaining 1 tsp. sugar. Add more cream, if desired.


For the sandwich, I used some sourdough, buttered on the outsides, a very thin layer of miso paste on the inside, with some basil, ham and thick tillamook cheddar. I put this on the pan before turning on the heat to medium and kept it covered while it toasting.

 A solid breakfast right here.

English Muffins
2 eggs,
1 juiced and zested lemon
1/2 tspn cardamom
1/2 to 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
chopped hazelnuts.

I made the english muffin french toast, by splitting the muffin the night before and letting them sit out to get stale. This extra bite helps them absorb the egg and stay crispy and full of nooks and cranies when they are cooked.

For the glaze, I zested the lemon, then juiced it all out. I add the cardamom, and started mixing in the powdered sugar at about a large Tablespoon at a time, stirring until it was dissolved before adding more. I kept this up until it was thick, which took longer than I had expected.

Finally I just topped it all off with some hazelnuts to be fancy. Quite perfect.