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Hello! Hope you are all keeping safe and taking care of yourself in these hard times.

All we can do is stay positive, keep calm and believe that better times are ahead of us. And say a prayer for those who are affected and hope they conquer this dreaded virus.

As a writer, I am home bound most of the time and in a kind of self quarantine. So my daily schedule hasn’t changed much. But everything that’s happening around me is making it difficult to concentrate on work, which means writing isn’t getting done. So I thought I would shift gears and try to come up with some easy recipes.

Many of you have asked for recipes and I have mentioned a recipe book that will come out in the future. This is the first time I am sharing one of Jenny’s recipes. Hope you like it and try it out. I have tried to make it easy and pocket friendly, using pantry ingredients.

Updates from the world of writing – some fellow authors had planned a spring sale. Please visit the page below to check out some 99c books. One of my own books, Back to the Fajitas, is part of it. It features a family road trip along Route 66 and a mystery that is solved long distance over the phone. The setting is turn of the century, a time when there were no video chats and no smart phones. Can we even imagine such a time?

Cozy Mystery Spring Fling Sale March 19-21 – Click to Visit

My author friend Dianne Harman is having a 90 day sale. She is going to put a book free or at 99c for the next, yes, 90 days. Please sign up for her newsletter so you get an email about these books every day.

I may have a surprise for you too. Just stay tuned and keep watching this space.

Are you ready for the recipe now? It’s just a simple tomato soup that can be made with things you generally have on hand. I know the first day of spring is almost here, but it’s still cool enough to eat soup, right?

Winter Hard Times Tomato Basil Soup RECIPE

Ingredients

½ cup onion, diced

½ cup celery, diced

1 clove garlic, crushed or minced

1 dry bay leaf

2 cups carrots, cooked

5-6 cups crushed tomatoes

2 cups vegetable stock or water

1 can evaporated milk

1 Tbsp corn starch

1 tsp fresh ground black pepper

¼ tsp paprika

2 tsp sugar

½ – 1 tsp dried basil

2 Tbsp butter

2 Tbsp olive oil

salt to taste

Method

Add butter and oil to a stock pot and let the butter melt.

Add the bay leaf.

Add onions, garlic and celery and sauté on medium flame until softened.

Add carrots and tomatoes along with the stock.

Add all the herbs and seasonings and bring to a boil. Simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Whisk corn starch and evaporated milk together.

Reduce heat and add it to the soup. Stir to combine well. You can blend the soup in the pot if you want it very smooth.

Serve hot with fresh cracked pepper and a pinch of dried basil.

Notes – You can use 1/2 tsp garlic powder instead of fresh garlic. Same for the onions. Use fresh milk or half and half instead of evaporated milk.

Makes about 8 cups of soup!!

The Instant Pot has become quite popular over the past couple of years. Would you like to have an IP version of this recipe? Or would you like other IP recipes made with pantry ingredients?

Please try this and let me know what you think. Also, please share your photos. I will post them on Facebook or on the blog here to inspire other readers.

Hope you stay safe and healthy and take care!