Vampire Blood Tomato Soup and Apple Cheese Sandwiches

Ingredients:

Tomato soup

• 1 can (800 g) of canned plum tomatoes
• 3 tbsp. l. olive oil
• Half a fennel root, chopped, about 2 1/2 cups
• Half a large onion, chopped, about 1 cup
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 and 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1/8 - 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 2 cups tomato juice
• 6 basil leaves, torn
• 1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

Muenster cheese and apple jam sandwiches

• 16 9cm square slices of Westphalian pumpernickel or other black bread
• 0.5 cups apple jam
• 8 slices Munster cheese, about 100 g.
• 8 slices cheddar, about 100 g
• Special equipment: cookie cutters (pumpkins, ghosts, cats, bats, and witches), optional

Additional decorations

• Circles of pickled cucumbers
• Fennel sprigs
• Olives stuffed with pimento peppers

Preparation:

1. Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add fennel, onion, garlic, salt, fennel seeds, and red pepper flakes, if using, and cook until softened and slightly browned, about 5 minutes.
   
   Drain the tomatoes into a separate bowl and set aside. Then gently crush the tomatoes with your hands. Add the tomatoes to the pan, increase the heat to high, and cook until they begin to darken slightly, about 5 minutes.
2. Add the reserved tomato liquid, vegetable broth, tomato juice, and basil leaves. Bring to a boil, stir, reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the vegetables are tender and the soup has reduced slightly and thickened, about 30 minutes.
3. Remove the pan from the heat and puree the soup in batches using an immersion blender, a regular blender, or a food processor. Add lemon juice and pepper to taste. Serve.
4. Muenster cheese sandwiches: fry pumpernickel bread Toast in a toaster or oven until lightly crisp, about 5 minutes (or less if using a toaster). Spread apple jam on one side of each slice of bread. Place the cheese on top of the jam, then top with the remaining slice of bread. Cut out a shape from the sandwich, if desired. Decorate further, if desired.