Summertime, with bees busily buzzing in the herb garden and tomatoes ripening in the sunshine, seems so far away on an icy February day. Fortunately, while summer was still here, I stocked my freezer and shelves with garden products, and the other day I used some of them to make a tasty tomato/tomatillo soup.

Here are the tomatillos, still frosty from the freezer.

Tomato/Tomatillo Soup

• 1 onion, chopped
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 cups diced tomatillos (fresh or frozen and thawed)
• 3 cups diced red tomatoes (fresh or canned)
• 1 cup corn kernels (fresh or frozen and thawed)
• 4 cups broth
• 2 t oregano
• 2 t cumin
• 2 cups cooked black beans
• 1 cup cooked brown rice
• salt to taste

Sauté the onions and garlic until the onions are translucent, about five minutes. Stir in the tomatillos, tomatoes, corn, broth, and spices. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and let simmer, covered, 20- 30 minutes. Add the beans and rice and cook a few more minutes until they are heated through. Add more water as needed (or the cooking water from the beans) and salt taste.

Local analysis of this week’s soup:

Local – garlic, oregano (from my garden), tomatillos (from neighbor’s garden via my freezer), corn (from farmer’s market via my freezer), broth (homemade from vegetable scraps)

Non local – canned tomatoes, cumin, beans, rice, salt