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 Parsnip Tomato Soup and Summer Veggie Tart

Two dishes tonight.  The first was the parsnip tomato soup.  Margarine and chopped onion and minced garlic sauteed with a little over two cups of chopped parsnips.  Cooking in a pot for 5-10 minutes before I added some flour with some thyme.  Next, I added low sodium vegetable stock, 2% milk and a can of whole cherry tomatoes.  I covered and simmered with a couple bay leaves for about 40 minutes before cooling a little and blending.  I'm not sure how I like it.  I feel like I needed more tomatoes or that if I didn't blend it so much, it would make for a nice pasta sauce with a couple of artichoke hearts.

While I was letting the soup simmer I started the summer squash tart.  First, in a pan, I added olive oil and a clove of pressed garlic and a chopped red pepper.  I added a little bit of salt and pepper, sauteed for about 5-10 minutes.  I let it cool to room temperature while I took out the refrigerated pie crust (I didn't have the energy to make my own) and placed it on a pan.  Meanwhile, I had half a brick of Neufchâtel cheese thawing at room temperature and mixed some salt and pepper with a handful of basil leaves from my garden, which I chopped. I spread the mixture onto the pie crust, smeared the red peppers onto the cheese and topped with sliced zucchini and summer squash.  I folded the pie dough over the edge, wiped the veggies with olive oil and baked at 425° for about 30 minutes.  After baking, I added a few more basil leaves as garnish.  This was really tasty and I could see myself adding more veggies next time around.