Dinner Tonight

Ingredients

•  3 large tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 teaspoon white sugar
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons margarine
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups milk or cream
• any other veg you have on hand can be added if you like
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Simmer tomatoes, onions, sugar, and salt and pepper. Once onions are soft, strain. Set liquid aside.
2. In a saucepan, melt the butter or margarine. Stir in the flour. Whisk in the milk, and cook until thickened. Slowly add the reserved tomato liquid, and gently heat.  Blend until smooth (if you like). Add cheese and serve hot.               

So if you have'nt gathered we will be having tomato soup and grilled cheese for dinner, hmm I'm hungry now! The farm fresh tomatoes this time of year are the best! between soup and sandwiches and just eating then up we can't keep enough in the house!

Did you know?

Eating tomatoes is the best way to avoid sunburn and wrinkles

Eating pizza topped with tomato paste can help prevent sunburn and premature wrinkles, new research suggests.
A study found that volunteers who ate helpings of ordinary tomato paste over a 12-week period developed skin that was less likely to burn in the sun.

Researchers at the University of Manchester found that the test subjects were 33 per cent more protected against sunlight than another group who were not given tomato paste.

The effect of eating tomatoes was equivalent to slapping on a factor 1.3 sunscreen. Changes were also seen within the skin of the volunteers that counteract the appearance of ageing.

Scientists think an antioxidant, lycopene, which gives tomatoes their colour, can neutralise harmful molecules produced in skin exposed to the sun's ultra-violet rays. Damage inflicted by the free radical molecules on skin structures and DNA can lead to premature ageing and skin cancer.

Previous research has shown that cooked tomatoes contain higher levels of lycopene than raw tomatoes. Tomato paste of the sort used to make pizza toppings is rich in lycopene. Skin levels of procollagen, which helps the skin stay supple and youthful, were also boosted by the tomato diet.

At the same time tests at the University of Newcastle showed that lycopene reduced sun damage to mitochondrial DNA in the skin – DNA in tiny powerplants in cells called mitochondria. Its disruption is also associated with skin ageing.

Professor Lesley Rhodes, at Manchester University, said: "The tomato diet boosted the level of procollagen in the skin significantly. These increasing levels suggest potential reversal of the skin ageing process."

Just an extra tidbit- finished a new pattern yesterday! Baby blanket. It's just a lovey size so I could test the pattern but i love how it came out and Iain is all attatched to it.