Chunky Tomato (and Zucchini) Soup (aka: The Zucchini Chronicles, part 1)

Here lies my quest to utilize the zucchini bounty coming from our garden.  May the force be with me.

This is the first year my husband and I have had our own garden.  We have a few zucchini plants, and some patty pan summer squash, and despite a few hiccups with blossom-end rot this year, they have been giving us many, many tasty squashes to consume.  And there lies the rub:  we're really only a few weeks into full-zucchini season, and I'm already pretty sick of it.  I've had just about enough pan-roasted squash in my salads.  And here's the thing:  I feel so guilty about it!

Despite it being the end of July, there's been a little snap in the air.  So this weekend, I decided to try out a few new zucchini recipes to expand the ways I use zucchini, and end my guilt.  Here's a recipe that my husband declared as "easily restaurant quality" tomato soup. He's the best taste tester (and complimenter) I know :-).  I blended the soup using an immersion blender, and it left the soup being a little chunky and hearty.  If you wanted this to be a very smooth tomato soup, I think the blender would do the trick.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
1 pinch red pepper flakes (or more, to taste)
2 teaspoons thyme
2 teaspoons basil
2 cans tomatoes (32 ounce cans, whole, diced, anything will work here)
4 cups shredded zucchini
1-2 tablespoons sugar (if needed)
1 cup veggie broth, plus more as needed ** I like using powdered veggie broth, so that I can add as much or as little flavor as I want.

Directions

Heat olive oil in dutch oven, or soup pot.  Add onions and cook until translucent (about 5-10 minutes).  Add garlic, bay leaves, red pepper flakes, thyme, and basil, and cook for 1 minute longer.  Add tomatoes, and zucchini, and 1 cup of broth.  Avoid adding any water until the zucchini and tomatoes have had an opportunity to release their juices.  Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring frequently.  Remove bay leaves, and blend soup using immersion blender, adding additional broth, as needed.  Taste, and add sugar, salt, and pepper if needed.  Serve with crusty bread and cheese, or even grilled cheese, an "grown up" recipe for which is found here.