"Hold the mayo, hold the lettuce..."

Sometimes a recipe veers so far off course that it turns into another beast entirely. I started with a recipe for charred tomato soup with lump crab. I changed it from the get go because I didn't want to go to the expense of using crab and there is no substitute. I changed the pancetta to bacon because it's easier to find and dropped the cornstarch entirely. Slowly, but surely it turned into an independent soup with nothing but the tomatoes to tie it to the original.

I'm glad this was good because I managed to set-off the smoke alarms while trying to char the tomatoes. Ironically, the debacle was not due to the tomatoes burning, but rather a blob of batter that had overflowed to the bottom of the oven when I made the Blackberry-Apple Cake. Once the smoke cleared and the cats came out from hiding, dinner was enjoyed and deemed worthy of posting.

Almost BLT Soup

Serves 4

1/2 pound smoked bacon, roughly chopped

2 medium red onions, chopped

4 Roma tomatoes, quartered

1 (14.5 ounce) can of fire-roasted tomatoes (Muir Glen)

1 cup chicken stock

1/2 teaspoon smoked salt

Juice from one lime

Parmesan cheese, optional

In a saute pan combine the bacon with the onions. Saute over medium-low heat for about 20 minutes, until bacon has crisped and onions are translucent. Place the bacon-onion mixture into the Vita-Mix container along with all the other ingredients. Start on variable #1, increase to 7, then high. If you prefer the soup on the chunkier side, reserve the Roma tomatoes until you've pureed the soup and add with pulses on #3. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese if desired.