Comments on Sweet Amandine: Getting in, and getting out

You just brought a huge smile to my face, Lori! T...

2011-07-26T11:08:16.458-04:00

You just brought a huge smile to my face, Lori! Thank you so much for sharing. You know, I've never thought to eat this soup cold, but now I can't wait to try it that way. Please thank your neighbors for me for the inspiration. Happy summer to you, too!

Hi There, I have a fun story to share with you. ...

2011-07-26T10:23:32.114-04:00

Hi There, I have a fun story to share with you. We rent a beach house in Massachusetts every summer. We have wonderful neighbors and often share dinners with them. Last night, our neighbors came over for an Italian Feast and they were carrying a jar of tomato soup. It was labeled "Simplest Tomato Soup- Sweet Amandine." Of course I recognized your blog name and wanted to share that with you. The soup was fabulous (we sipped it cold). Thanks, and Happy Summer :)

Sara, Megan, forgive me! For some reason I'm ...

2010-04-09T19:35:59.513-04:00

Sara, Megan, forgive me! For some reason I'm just now seeing your comments. Thank you for your notes, and Megan, I hope that you found the soup sufficiently bright.

Karin, I'm so happy that you enjoyed this recipe. Great thinking to add that pesto in place of the basil oil. Brilliant, actually! I bet this soup would be wonderful alongside a bowl of pasta with fresh pesto. I'll have to try that this summer. Thanks for the inspiration!

I just made this soup today after finding your rec...

2010-04-09T17:02:57.517-04:00

I just made this soup today after finding your recipe on craft gawker. Delicious soup. Simple but yum. I didn't have basil oil and found it did need a little something so I just mixed in a little bit of pesto I had in the fridge already. Fabulous. Goes well with oyster crackers. Thanks!

almost two months later and I am going to cook the...

2010-02-12T15:19:19.430-05:00

almost two months later and I am going to cook the soup tonight... I need a little brightness...

hard to cook for people with allergies of all sort...

2009-12-20T19:38:16.377-05:00

hard to cook for people with allergies of all sorts, I commend you. Sounds delicious.

Megan - Yes. Yes, it does.

2009-12-20T10:12:37.817-05:00

Megan - Yes. Yes, it does.

just saw the weather report for boston... does it ...

2009-12-18T19:41:22.236-05:00

just saw the weather report for boston... does it really snow that much?

Designer chicklet apparel - I need me some of that...

2009-12-15T04:27:04.874-05:00

Designer chicklet apparel - I need me some of that! Do you think I can make a big batch of this over break and freeze it in servings? And then add the milk when I heat it up?

xx
megan

Hello, sweet Rosiecat! Your note made me s...

2009-12-13T14:15:31.926-05:00

Hello, sweet Rosiecat! Your note made me so happy. It really is remarkable how such a simple soup can pack so much flavor. I'm so glad that you enjoyed it.

Megan - Congratulations! I hope that the transition is smooth and the landing soft. I'm sure you have your own Boston "insiders," but if you have any questions about neighborhoods or, ahem, good eats, feel free to shoot me an e-mail.

Nithya - What a very kind thing to say. Thank you. Best of luck with your thesis. If only I could beam you a bowl of this soup through the internet, I would.

I can totally sympathize. I'm neck deep in an ...

2009-12-11T23:35:47.281-05:00

I can totally sympathize. I'm neck deep in an experimental Physics project, my Masters' Thesis. And I live in a hostel with no hope of getting warm, oniony soup till I get to go home next. Still, your writing and photos fill me up.

We have pretty much decided Boston it is... just n...

2009-12-11T22:54:43.841-05:00

We have pretty much decided Boston it is... just neighbourhood shopping now.... got my snow shovel in hand and will be trying the soup this weekend.

This soup made me so happy tonight. I love that i...

2009-12-11T21:53:57.906-05:00

This soup made me so happy tonight. I love that it's made from pantry goodies! I made it without really planning to make it--no grocery shopping required!--and it made such a lovely end-of-week supper. The flavor is remarkable. Thank you for the recipe, Jess. I'm tucking this one away in my tomato soup files :-)

Megan - It was lovely, wasn't it? Though as B...

2009-12-11T08:22:09.724-05:00

Megan - It was lovely, wasn't it? Though as Boston snows go, it was pretty dinky. If you end up in Boston, you'll see what I mean! Good luck to your husband on his thesis and post doc interviews, and happy soup-eating to you both.

El - Thanks!

Elishag - Thanks, my friend! And I see you've outed me as the timid cusser (curser? swearer? I can't even get the verbiage right!) that I am. Didn't think I had it in me, did you?

Where can I get my hands on "designer chickle...

2009-12-10T22:37:14.510-05:00

Where can I get my hands on "designer chicklet apparel"? Love that whole sentence.

This soup sounds so yum.

Picturing you cursing, even mildly, into your cutting board really made me giggle.

Looks pretty tasty. Good luck with your prospectus...

2009-12-10T22:20:53.748-05:00

Looks pretty tasty. Good luck with your prospectus!

Weirdly enough my husband and I were in Boston for...

2009-12-10T21:44:02.975-05:00

Weirdly enough my husband and I were in Boston for the first snow. He was interviewing at Mass General for a post doc position, he too is writing his thesis, though in a slightly different vain. We are expecting our first snow in Vancouver tonight, so soup is definitely on the menu.

Good luck.

Katie - So funny! Personally, I'll always ta...

2009-12-10T15:59:45.155-05:00

Katie - So funny! Personally, I'll always take bogus textual analysis over bogus apple tarts and lemon bars. The former is at least good for a laugh. The latter just makes me queasy. Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me.

Mom - I love it when you comment here. Thanks for saying such nice things about my writing. (It's not like you're biased or anything.)

Lauren - Thanks for your note. It's nice knowing I'm not the lone disciple of these opposing schools of kitchen thought.

janna - I don't blame you. There are some pretty unappealing ones out there. I hope that this one fits the bill. Thanks for the good luck wishes!

I'm very picky about my tomato soup, but I thi...

2009-12-10T13:48:13.760-05:00

I'm very picky about my tomato soup, but I think I'm going to try this one!

Good luck with the prospectus!

Soup sounds wonderful for this bone-chillingly col...

2009-12-10T13:04:30.663-05:00

Soup sounds wonderful for this bone-chillingly cold day! The way you describe the fine line between cooking to relieve stress and getting even more stressed from cooking is spot on--it either takes your mind off things or makes you even more frustrated. Good luck with your dissertation!

Oh, your "heightened awareness" --- your...

2009-12-10T11:35:27.538-05:00

Oh, your "heightened awareness" --- your writing soothes, comforts, and induces big proud mommy smiles. Makes me want to warm the kitchen with a big pot of soup simmering on the stove while breathing in your beautiful words. The next pot of soup I brew, tomato or otherwise, will be dedicated and eaten in your honor.

What a lovely post! I'm slogging through term ...

2009-12-10T07:14:10.318-05:00

What a lovely post! I'm slogging through term papers in my own phd program (one more year before tackling my prospectus) and am finding that I definitely fall into the first camp of kitchen users. The number of baked goods I bring to seminar has definitely increased as the semester becomes more difficult. Don't tell anyone, but sometimes I don't finish the reading because I'm busy baking. Yikes. I have a sinking feeling that my evaluations are going to say something like "She makes very delicious apple tarts and lemon bars, but her interpretation of Plato is just bogus."

Best of luck with your research and happy cooking!

Char - You are so kind to write even though tomato...

2009-12-09T20:57:48.038-05:00

Char - You are so kind to write even though tomato soup is not your thing. Is it possible that with your mother offering bowl upon bowl, you managed to overdose before adulthood? And chicken noodle soup's out too? (Thanks for sparing us the details of that story!) As for my research, I'm lucky to be enjoying it so far. Hopefully I'll feel the same about the writing when the time comes.

Garrett - Ha! So nice to hear from a fellow graduate student in the trenches. Thanks for the support.

jenny - Thanks for sharing your Tomato Soup to the Rescue story. Do you think we've stumbled upon a genre? Adventures in soup-er heroes? Congratulations on nearing the finish line on your thesis. It feels a long way off for me, but fortunately, I like the journey.

Nina - Hello there! So, I guess you're evidence that there is life on the other side! Thanks for your advice, on all fronts. I'm lucky to have an amazing advisor who is totally on my team. That makes all the difference. And of course, when the going gets rough, into the kitchen I'll go!

jess, yummy! this looks amazing and i just may ma...

2009-12-09T18:06:11.422-05:00

jess, yummy! this looks amazing and i just may make it this weekend. thanks. having survived writing a dissertation i fully empathize and can relate to your words. so much of it seems like jumping through hoops and your words/ideas take on a life of their own in the hands of your committee members. my best advice to others was to get the best computer chair you can buy as you will be sitting at that spot for so long.

i'm sure you are going to do wonders with your research. hang in there and fully procrastinate when you need to by cooking and baking :).

i'm not doing a graduate dissertation, but i c...

2009-12-09T17:31:49.371-05:00

i'm not doing a graduate dissertation, but i can sympathize -- i have been working on my undergraduate honors thesis almost a year and a half now (it should have taken 9 months, tops).

i remember one time last year, after doing considerably more algebra than all of highschool in one afternoon, when i tried to make sweet potato fries for my mom and me. i was at home for spring break with a draft deadline pending upon my return, and i put the potatoes in the microwave for 7 minutes (yep) to soften them before cutting them to bake.

needless to say, i got a pile of mushy sweet potatoes. i stood at the kitchen counter bawling my eyes out. my mom sat me down at the table, threw out the potatoes, and we had tomato soup for dinner.

ironic, no? =)

good luck with your giant undertaking. you'll be amazed at how validated you'll feel when it's finished. enjoy the research and the work, and don't microwave sweet potatoes when you want fries.